UrbanUpdate December 2016

ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384

Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

UrbanUpdate Volume III, Issue VIII

December 2016

Rs 100

Shifting of Development Paradigm for Good!

Gone are the days of old Gandhian maxim ‘India lives in its villages’. By 2030 forty percent of India’s population is projected to be living in urban areas.

Urbanization is taking its toll on millions, with no safeguards against climate change. There has been a tectonic shift in the new urban agenda

Demonetisation affects real estate most

The Cities We Need: Towards a new urban paradigm

The project is funded by the European Union.

The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

Union Ministry of Urban Development has empanelled AIILSG on the list of consultants qualified to work for Smart City Mission.

AIILSG has been selected to work for Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.

Community Based Interventions

Professional Empowerment Project Management

Advisory Services Customised Training

Knowledge Management Capacity Building Information, Education and Communication (IEC)

Policy Research

All India Institute of Local Self-Government No. 6, F-Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, TPS Road-12, Bandra-East, Mumbai-400051, Maharashtra Tel.No.: +91-22-26571713, 26571714, 26571715, Fax: +91-22-26572286, Email: contact@aiilsg.org

UrbanUpdate A monthly magazine published by the AIILSG — a project funded by European Union’s ‘Equi-City’ programme for India.

Ranjit Chavan President-AIILSG Capt. Anant Modi Editor-In-Chief Director General-AIILSG, dg@aiilsg.org Ashok Wankhade Managing Editor Abhishek Pandey Editor Ravi Ranjan Guru Executive Editor

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Printed at Artz & Printz, 208, DSIDC Shed, Okhla Industrial Area Phase-I, New Delhi-110020 Published at Sardar Patel Bhavan, 22-23, Institutional Area D-Block Pankha Road, Janakpuri, Delhi-110058 Despite careful selection of sources, no responsibility can be taken for accuracy of the contents. The magazine assumes no liability or responsibility of any kind in connection with the information thereof. The views expressed in the articles are the personal opinions of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the All India Institute of Local Self-Government.

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The project is funded by the European Union.

The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.

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December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

EDITORIAL

Let us make our cities truly ‘for all’

U

Capt. Anant Modi Editor-In-Chief dg@aiilsg.org

nited Nations observes December 3, each year as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The Theme this year was “Achieving 17 Goals for the Future We Want”. The Theme brings focus on the role of the Sustainable Development Goals in building a more equitable and inclusive world with special emphasis on persons with disabilities. Given that the world has over one billion such differently abled persons, the largest minority group, there is need for careful, focused attention to the subject. Our urban spaces with the increasing pulls and pressures of different stakeholder groups,often fail to adequately provide for the needs of persons with disabilities; needs that could be competing, and sometimes conflicting with the needs of other citizen groups. The needs of the differently abled could often run counter to those of the rest of the city given its fast paced rhythm and urge for greater efficiency and productivity.

The UN notes that “Persons with disabilities have generally poorer health, lower education achievements, fewer economic opportunities and higher rates of poverty than people without disabilities”. Lack of full access to services and the many obstacles (physical environment, inadequate policy support, societal attitudes or discrimination) they face in their everyday lives brings about this condition.

On the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, AIILSG’s International Centre of Equity and Inclusion for Transformation (IC EQUI-T) launched its International Center for Differently-abled. IC EQUI-T has designed several programmes to address the needs of disadvantaged sections of our society including deprived women and under-privileged

children in various spheres like education, health and sanitation.

This new center for the differently abled, will work to enable such persons participate fully in the development process meaningfully, with dignity and pride.

In the cover story of this issue of Urban Update, we delve into the ‘India Habitat III-National Report’ which was released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation just ahead of the Habitat-III meet. The Report makes an assessment of the urbanization trends in the country marked by competition between cities for enhanced productivity and economic vibrancy. It looks at the challenges relating to land, housing, infrastructure and services; the need for strengthening local governments, for greater autonomy and their fiscal empowerment. It also gives an account of the new initiatives and urban rejuvenation measures for efficient, inclusive, safe and sustainable cities.

Urban Update had the opportunity to speak to Andries Neil, South Africa’s Deputy Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

The Country is among the most urbanised with urban residents accounting for over two-thirds of the population. He shared South Africa’s experiences with urbanisation and various efforts to make this urban transition orderly and inclusive, the role of urban local bodies and initiatives such as the Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF). In this issue, we bring you excerpts of the interview.

In the coming year, we look forward to renewed vigour on the part of all stakeholders in our efforts to address the challenges of urbanisation and harness fully the opportunities it offers, in our journey towards more inclusive and sustainable cities. We at AIILSG wish you and your family a happy and prosperous new year.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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Quotes

PIN POINT BUZZ

There is a need to ensure that green infrastructure is planned, financed, developed and maintained within local government across traditional “silo’s” Kelly Gunnell Member, Urban-Leds

Sweden wants high ambition on circular economy and waste.

There is a need to extract resources judiciously, utilize them optimally and recycle products to reduce ecological footprint. Urbanization isn’t just going to be based on ‘Use and Throw’ Karolina Skog Minister for Environment, Sweden

M Venkaiah Naidu @MVenkaiahNaidu Union Minister for Urban Development

Public Communication is empowering the people with necessary information which would in turn make a difference to their lives

Maimunah Mohd Sharif @mayormpsp President, Municipal Council Of Seberang Perai

Eco mobility and car free morning. It’s about giving the streets to people

Arun Krishnamurthy @Ecoarun Environmentalist, Environmental Foundation of India

Empowering local governments is crucial towards progress.

International Development Association (IDA) with the help of the Govt. of Bangladesh has helped local government bodies in the fields of quality education, green agriculture, water availability and sustainability affecting nearly 130 million people

Please build a bridge between prople, among people and between countries. They have no other choice but to flee to save their lives to other foreign countries. We are living in a small world. We are all the same human beings, whether you are Syrian or European or Asian, we are all one. We are all same

Qimiao Fan Country Director, Qimiao Fan, New World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, World Bank

Ban Ki-moon Secretary General, United Nations

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December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

Reading on global river pollutions is making me count our days left on this planet. Ganga and Yamuna depict the ugly picture of excess urbanization. Are our rivers going to survive the concrete jungle?

Shivraj Chouhan @CMMadhyaPradesh Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh

Next Decade Belongs to Madhya Pradesh: My thoughts on the eve of #MPSthapanaDiwas. Let sustainable Madhya Pradesh be the next giant wave.

Inside

Volume 3, Issue 8

One on one

44

Inside December 2016

40

Manage urbanisation to address environmental challenges: Neil

Andries Neil, Deputy Minister for

Cooperative Governance and

Traditional Affairs (South Africa), speaks

to Urban Update on challenges cities are facing in South Africa and his

government’s initiative IUDF to tackle

those challenges…

36

Urban services need immediate, intensive care

Dr Ranjeet Mehta, Director, Housing

and Urban Development, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, talks about

the areas which need immediate

attention to handle the burgeoning

urban population

34

The Cities We Need: Towards a New Urban Paradigm

Habitat III had extensive discussion on the

many urbanisation subjects. But the point

is who will take it forward. Deputy Mayor

of Shimla hopes the New Urban Agenda

does not become only a wish list

OPINION

38

Demonetisation affects real estate most

The sudden ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes has resulted in a situation of limited or no cash in the market to be parked in real estate assets. Till now the real estate sector has been know for usage of cash

Pin Point Newscan

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15 46

City Images Urban Agenda

Shifting of development paradigm for good!

Gone are the days of old Gandhian maxim ‘India lives in its villages’. By 2030 forty percent of India’s population is projected to be living in urban areas. Urbanisation is taking its toll on millions, with no safeguards against climate change. There has been a tectonic shift in the urban agenda

LEADerspeak

30

Skill India can help build competent municipal workforce No one can deny the fact that economic development supported by rapid and massive urbanisation in the past decade has brought down the poverty level in our country. Cities are undergoing remark able positive transformation and require skilled manpower to sustain the change in operational management of cities. Linking certain components of Skill India Mission and livelihood programmes with urban development can be helpful in achieving desired objectives in both the domains

events

43

RegularS

6 10

Cover story

Ranjit Chavan re-elected Co-President of UCLG-ASPAC

Ranjit Chavan, former Vadodara Mayor and President of AIILSG, has

been reelected as Co-President (Associate and International

Organisation members) of United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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feature | Equi-City

Equality to leverage diversities Equi-City programme aspires to establish consistent channels of participatory municipal governance to facilitate equalaccess to municipal services to citizens across different strata, especially urban poor Team Equi-City

T

he Equi-City project endorses the ideas of engaging collaboratively to find solutions in respective localities amongst urban stakeholders through different means, be it establishment of several fora, setting up two-way communication platforms to promote transparency in urban management,

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December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

assembling resources, and so on. The programme envisages ramp up of such efforts, including various field activities, sensitisation workshops, citizen engagement programmes, publishing an array of study reports after dedicated surveys, etc. Over the last few months, Equi-City Cell based in Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has intensified different

ground activities to underpin concepts of equality framework for practitioners besides citizens. Facilitating more equitable processes in the municipal service delivery and local government functioning, the programme put forward an outcome-based approach that is supposed to link the impact one seeks to have with the impact that actually exist, in a better manner.

Why do outcomes matter in Equi-City

Outcome-based frameworks have different facets involved across theproject lifecycle. As mentioned earlier, tools for interventions through this projectlead toencourage participation of local government authorities,common citizens and other stakeholders. To fully embrace intended outcomes in this project, it is acknowledged that it couldn’t just be tagged on at the end of the implementation process. To avoid waiting until the tail of the project period to evaluate outcomes, interventions are planned in a phased manner. Moreover, consistent assessments across the timeline are being done besides step by step promotion of the ideas of equitable city. This approach is not only easy to follow by the local bodies like NMC, but also have a sustainable impact.

The project stretches beyond the conventional delivery of municipal services and community participation. Equi-City programme envisages doing away with the systemic barriers.

Project activities on ground are planned in such a fashion as to keep citizens well informed about the initiative alongside building mutual trust and a collaborative environment through the interventions

Thinking about outcomes at scale

As practitioners continue to innovative ideas to integrate outcomes with their respective planning processes, overarching stakeholders(and institutions)generally look forward to consolidate different sectoral impacts and scale those efforts from a broader perspective. Thus, EquiCity programme is dedicated to continue this quadrennial project with sustainable impacts of scaling up equitable municipal service provision alongside scaling up different means of participatory municipal governance.

Building capacity of stakeholders, not just physical indicators…

The project stretches beyond the conventional delivery of municipal services and community participation.

Through linking resources and developing respective capacities of the communities and local government officials, Equi-City programme envisages doing away with the systemic barriers. Project activities on ground are planned in such a fashion as to keep citizens well informed about the initiative alongside building mutual trust and a collaborative environment through the interventions.

This framework, furthermore, provides NMC officials the tools and supports to identify andaddress issues besides building a diverse and inclusive workforce broadly representative of the citizens and communities they serve. It provides the means to leverage diversities alongside underpinning inclusion values and practices into existing municipal processes.

Moreover, Equi-City enables the local body to progress towards equitable city and support its competitive edge by way of measuring efficacy time to time, department wise as well as collectively.

Description of Activities taking place in Nagpur

As the name suggests, the purpose for conducting Sensitization workshops is to create awareness regarding sanitation and hygiene, sensitize people

and improve existing conditions of municipal services provided by NMC. A couple of Sensitization workshops were conducted in Takia slum and Tandapeth slum of Nagpur recently.

The workshops were conducted in two sessions: ♦♦ Interactive Session between the Zone Commissioner, Ward Members and the citizens of the slum; ♦♦ Feedback Survey Session.

Various indicators of Sanitation like availability of water, sewerage and sanitation conditions and solid waste management in Takia Slum and Tandapeth slum were discussed and noted.

Findings from these Workshops

Some common observations during the workshops held were: ♦♦ The settlements in the slum consist of compact settlements comprising of temporary and semi-pakka nature of tenements. ♦♦ Water supply system in slums is more or less regular, although people expressed their dissatisfaction about effectiveness of water supply timings to some extent. ♦♦ A considerable number of the houses in these slums have access to tap water connection. ♦♦ In case of sewerage and sanitation, more than half of the households in these slums have individual toilets.

The residents are not satisfied with the cleaning and maintenance of the drainage and sewerage system by the NMC. ♦♦ Unethical dumping of solid waste along the Nagpur- Mumbai Railway is still practiced by the people.

This clearly shows the lack of mass awareness about the sanitation.

The dumping of solid waste along the railway is not only resulting in deterioration of the surrounding region but also resulting into the chocking of inspection chambers and overflowing of sewer lines over the streets which leads to insanitary condition in the area posing significant public health risks.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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BRIEFS

BEST to add six electric buses to its fleet

Mumbai’s Brihan-Mumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) system is adding six battery-operated buses to its current fleet. Each of these buses is worth Rs 1.5 crore, which is three times the cost of a standard bus. The electric buses will be procured after a grant of Rs 10 crore from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Sanjay Bhagwat, Additional General Manager, BEST, said, “Four buses from AV Motors and 2 from Impact will be procured by the undertaking after two buses are supplied to the undertaking in January on a trial basis. The other four buses will be made available by the manufacturers after receiving positive feedback on the first two.”

MIRRAT receives highest sustainability rating Melbourne, Australia Melbourne International RoRo & Automotive Terminal Pty Ltd (MIRRAT) received the highest sustainability rating from the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA). As Australia’s newest automotive terminal, it was given a 6 Star Green Star – Office as Built V3 rating for cutting its carbon footprint by 13,000 tonnes, using solar energy via Remote Area Power System (RAPS) to power 90 per cent of the building and utilising 200,000 tonnes of recycled concrete in the construction phase.

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December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

NEWSCAN

India expected to become the world’s thirdbiggest solar market, after China and US Chennai: After the Solar Alliance initiative launched by PM Narendra Modi at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, India has done a laudable job by implementing the initiative in the form of Kamuthi Solar Power Project.

The country appears to be on schedule to reduce its dependency on Fossil fuels to power homes and industries by 2030.

With the capacity of 648 MW, Kamuthi Solar Power Project which was recently completed in Tamil Nadu has been hailed as the world’s largest solar power plant.

The plant covers an area of 2500 acres and it has a capacity of 648 MW of clean, green power, and will provide electricity to 1.5 lakh homes. The cost of building the plant was $679 million (approximately Rs 4,500 crore). The solar power plant contains 25 lakh individual solar panels.

These panels are cleaned on a daily basis

by a robotic system, which is in turn charged by solar power, thereby making it a self-sustaining system.

Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group said, “We have a deep commitment to nation-building. We plan to produce 11,000 MW of solar energy in the next five years, putting India on the global map of renewable energy.”

As solar power increases, India is expected to become the world’s thirdbiggest solar market from next year onwards, after China and the US. To meet its ambitious target of powering 60 million homes by 2022, India must increase the number of solar plants across the country to generate at least 100 MW. The switch to nonpolluting technologies will help reducing carbon emissions, especially in polluted cities such as New Delhi.

Aligarh topped in Swachh Bharat aw New Delhi: Swachh Sarvekshan-2017, a campaign of 500 cities launched by Ministry of Urban development to assess the cities and towns on the basis of sanitation and efforts made by the respective urban local bodies. During the evaluation of IEC (Information,

Education and Communication) activities by the ministry, Aligarh has scored the maximum marks. After Aligarh other top 10 cities are: Vasai-Virar (Maharashtra), Hyderabad, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Madurai (Tamil Nadu), Vadodara and Rajkot (Gujarat), Tirupati

NEWSCAN

San Francisco nears waste free goal

San Francisco: Globally, waste generation amounts to almost 2.2 billion tonnes. At this rate, Global Footprint Network (GFN), a US based think tank remarks that soon humanity would need another earth to just dump their waste.

By 2030s, it could even be 2 earths. The ‘Ecological Overshoot’ theory by GFN says that human demands on the earth’s ecosystems is on a continuous rise. The City of San Francisco (SF) in USA has tried to incorporate in their life the idea of ‘Zero Waste’. As per sfenvironment.org, SF strictly enforced the ‘Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance’ in October 2009 under which it was compulsory for residents and businesses to sort waste into bio-degradable and non- biodegradable bins. The Department of Environment’s (DOE) ‘Environment Now (EN)’ team conducts door-to-door surveys to gauge whether residents are following the law or not. Moreover, online applications such as ‘RecycleWhere’ and ‘SignMaker’ launched by DOE give guidance to all regarding how they can reduce, reuse and recycle their waste sustainably. Payment for refuse collection funds the zero waste initiative. For instance, if a household switches from a 32 gallon black trash bin to a 20 gallon one (meant for landfill bound material), then the monthly rate will decrease from USD 25 to USD 20 to further incentivise citizens to reduce their carbon footprint. This series of measures has led to SF decreasing its landfill waste by 80% and aims to achieve 100% by 2020. The compost facility operates scientifically breaking down waste into ‘recoverable matter’ such as grass, fertiliser, bricks etc via micro-organisms (for bio-waste) and incineration (for non-bio-waste) and finally selling the finished product to local farmers.

BRIEFS

Denmark happiest nation in the world Denmark has topped the ‘World Happiness Report’ in 2016 for achieving mental and professional satisfaction. As per AdamSmith.org, a global think tank, Danish work hour is about 37.3 hrs/week. Coupled with quality air and water sources, 96 per cent of the population trustworthy and disposable incomes about USD 26,945 with over 75 per cent people having a paid job as per Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The report also says that Denmark’s model of development stands on firm ground.

Wind energy will become game changer in China

wareness campaign in urban areas (Andhra Pradesh) & Mysuru (Karnataka).

Swachh Sarvekshan-2017 survey conducted by the Quality Council of India (QCI) to rank cities on the basis of sanitation & cleanliness is a part of Swachh Bharat Mission. Under the survey cities were assessed in the following six aspects of sanitation and hygiene: Strategy for Open Defecation Free town (ODF) and Integrated Solid Waste Management (SWM), Information, Education and Behavior Change Communication (IEBC) activity, Sweeping, Door to door collection and transportation (of solid waste),Processing and disposal (of solid waste), Provision of public & community toilet seats, Construction of household individual toilets.

To ensure cleanliness at parks, government offices, residential colonies, tourist places, schools etc. all the cities are required to furnish reports on IEC activities along with the evidences of media coverage. The cities were given scores under the 50% of weightage allocated for IEC under Survey-2017.

All the performance related to IEC has been assessed by the ministry while evaluation of other parameters of Swachh Sarvekshan-2017 will be done by the Quality Council of India.

Naidu informed that since the first Swachh Survekshan Survey among 73 cities with population of million and above each in January this year, 115 cities have become ‘Open Defecation Free’ and another 793 cities and towns are set to become so by March next year. Since the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission in October, 2014, construction of 21 lakh household individual toilets has been completed and construction of another 21 lakh toilets is in progress. The mission target in this regard is construction of 1.04 crore toilets by 2019.

Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala will become ODF by March, 2017.

To promote people’s participation government has launched a Swachhata Helpline ‘1969’. Final results of Swachh Survekshan-2017 will be announced in January 2017.

China in an effort to reduce its global greenhouse gas emissions will spend USD 102 billion to increase its wind capacity to 6 per cent by 2020 from 3.3 per cent in 2015 as per the National Energy Administration Plan. This would bring the total employees in the wind energy industry to 800,000.

Wind farm capacity will go up from 129 million kW in 2015 to 210 million kW in 2020 with increase in electricity production touching 420 billion kW hours of electricity annually by 2020, up from 186 billion kW hours in 2015.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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BRIEFS

2000 trees uprooted for Metro project

NEWSCAN

Uttarakhand to sign MoU for India’s first Ultra High Temperature Hydrolysis plant

In Hyderabad, the environment has borne the impact of development. Out of the 5000 trees that needed to be axed for the metro project in Hyderabad, nearly two thousand trees have been uprooted from the city streets to make way for the project. But citizens and activists alleged these trees have not been transplanted by the Hyderabad Metro Rail. Citizens and activists alleged that the move has resulted in increasing pollution and dust particles.

India outstripped China in number of deaths due to air pollution

A report released by Greenpeace India recently said that India overtook China in the number of deaths caused by air pollution last year. Analysing the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data compiled by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle, the report found that India had 3,283 premature deaths due to ambient air pollution every day, as opposed to China’s 3,233 per day. The number of deaths per day due to air pollution in India has risen from 2,139 per day in 1990 to 3,238 in 2015.

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December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

Roorkee: Uttarakhand government has received a confirmation from the centre to set up India’s first Ultra High Temperature Hydrolysis plant at Roorkee. This project will be used to convert solid waste collected from seven major residential towns in the state into electricity. The private funded plant will be able to receive, handle and process 550 metric tons of unsegregated municipal solid waste. This will not only help in solid waste management but also be helpful to the environment as it is an eco-friendly technique.

This is the first time that the technology invented in Germany will be used outside Europe. Plant will be run by New Centre Energy, an Oman-based private company. State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand (SIDCUL) will sign memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the company in this regard.

SIDCUL will provide a 10-acre plot of land and the entire required infrastructure for

the project. The private company will invest Rs 1800 crore in the plant which is expected to be running within 10 months. The electricity generated from the plant will be purchased by UPCL. Omendra Srivastava, national waste management expert, ministry of urban development, said, “The technology will be good for the state which needs a better solid waste disposal mechanism. The technology has features such as zero air emission, zero liquid affluent discharge and zero landfill which will be beneficial to the environment of Uttarakhand.

The plant will also provide a boost to Clean Ganga Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission in Uttarakhand.” This type of technology will be considered as a renewable source of energy, as it was directed by the center to the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. From environmental perspective this is a praiseworthy step and many environmentalists are appreciating it.

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NEWSCAN

BRIEFS

NEWSCAN

This is the most dangerous time in history of humanity: Hawking ♦♦ Artificial intelligence and increasing automation will decimate middle class jobs and worsen inequality, and risks creating significant political upheaval, says 74-year-old physicist ♦♦ “We face awesome environmental challenges: climate change, food production, overpopulation, the decimation of other species, epidemic disease, acidification of the oceans” London: In a grim prognosis, renowned British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking has warned that the human race today is facing the “most dangerous” time in its history.

Noting that the planet is in crises, the 74-year-old Cambridge professor said the world is facing huge environmental and technological challenges and needs to unite and work together to protect the humanity.

“We face awesome environmental challenges: climate change, food production, overpopulation, the decimation of other species, epidemic

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December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

disease, acidification of the oceans.

Together, they are a reminder that we are at the most dangerous moment in the development of humanity,” he said.

“We now have the technology to destroy the planet on which we live, but have not yet developed the ability to escape it. Perhaps in a few hundred years, we will have established human colonies amid the stars, but right now we only have one planet, and we need to work together to protect it,” Hawking wrote in a recent op-ed for ‘The Guardian’ newspaper.

Commenting on the global political

shifts, Hawking attributed the rise of US President-elect Donald Trump and Britain’s Brexit vote to a “cry of anger” by people who felt they had been “abandoned” by their leaders.

“Whatever we might think about the decision by the British electorate to reject membership of the European Union and by the American public to embrace Donald Trump as their next president, there is no doubt in the minds of commentators that this was a cry of anger by people who felt they had been abandoned by their leaders,” he wrote “It was, everyone seems to agree, the moment when the forgotten spoke, finding their voices to reject the advice and guidance of experts and the elite everywhere,” Hawking said.

He also warned that artificial intelligence and increasing automation will decimate middle class jobs and worsen inequality, and risks creating significant political upheaval.

“The automation of factories has already decimated jobs in traditional manufacturing, and the rise of artificial intelligence is likely to extend this job destruction deep into the middle classes, with only the most caring, creative or supervisory roles remaining,” he said.

He, however, said the challenges can be overcome if the elites unite and learn from the past.

“We can do this, I am an enormous optimist for my species; but it will require the elites, from London to Harvard, from Cambridge to Hollywood, to learn the lessons of the past year. To learn above all a measure of humanity,” Hawking said.

NEWSCAN

BRIEFS

City Images

Coldplay warms up India to achieve SDGs

Coldplay performed in India for the first time at Global Citizen Festival (GCF) in Mumbai. The festival converged politicians, industrialists, film stars, sport persons, musicians and over 80,000 youngsters to shore up India’s efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The attendees collectively took a vow to make Swachh Bharat and Sustainable Development Goals a success. The event was hosted to facilitate massive

behavioral change as well as getting the leaders into action to do more for SDGs. A day before the concert, Chris Martin, the front man of the Coldplay, visited Shri Gadge Maharaja Vidyalay School, Mumbai with cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. He played cricket, performed for school children and posed with them. A day after, Martin along with Jay-Z, Demi Lovato belted out many ‘’Coldplay hits’.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

15

BRIEFS

OPIC lends to Indian Solar projects

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is to lend US$74mn to renewable energy projects in India. The debt is part of a US$250mn US government initiative to support renewable energy in India & will be bolstered by US$20mn in grants for solar facilities. The 100MW project is the first in India to get funded through the financing agreement, which will see the US govt, via OPIC, lend to the development, support and construction of solar projects.

Dimapur launches waste management project

NEWSCAN

KMC, KMT encourage electronic transactions Kolhapur: In sync with the Government’s new initiative of cashless transactions, the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) will install point of sale (PoS) machines, also known as swipe machines, at its five citizen facilitation centres (CFC). Recently, municipal bodies across the country are given directions to move their transactions to online mode.

Currently online mode tax payment is only 3 per cent of the total transaction made as KMC is already accepting taxes through online mode. Sanjay Sarnaik, chief accountant of the KMC, said, “Central government’s direction clearly states the civic bodies must ensure e-transaction mode is made available for all citizens.

We have found that though number of transactions made through net banking or through the online portal of the KMC is less at the moment, the number will increase as citizens have started using the mode to avoid unnecessary wastage of time and most importantly

to avoid standing in long queues. The PoS machines will be installed at the CFCs and in next phase it will be used for door-to-door collection of taxes.”

After the demonetisation of currency of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, KMC has collected over Rs 9 crore. Kolhapur Municipal Transport (KMT), willing to reduce cash transaction is introducing an e-ticketing system by the end of December. A senior KMT official requesting anonymity said, “After demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, the commuters are facing cash crunch and don’t have change with them. Also, it has become difficult to pay the ad-hoc expenses in high denomination currencies.

The e-ticketing will help us address the issue of keeping change with the conductors and most importantly bring transparency in the ticketing system.”

KMC has approached several firms to give their presentations on various e-ticketing modes available in the market.” The municipal bodies such as Mumbai have introduced e-ticketing system.

AMC introduces Janmitra Cards R Tohanba, Parliamentary Secretary for municipal affairs launched a waste management project in Dimapur, Nagaland recently.

The project on integrated solid waste management focuses on production of bio-fuels out of solid waste that could be used to promote organic farming, skill development, waste and drinking water management which is being implemented

by Newwaves Biofuels India Pvt Ltd, a Hyderabad-based company.For the development of the people in the northeast program will be implemented in the PPP model within 24 months.

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December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

Ahmedabad: Municipal Corporation of Ahmedabad has partnered with a central bill clearance system provider and a private bank in Gujarat for providing cashless transactions for its services and utilities. At 73 different locations, the provider has already installed its machines. The AMC is in support with the Prime Minister’s new initiative of introducing and increasing cashless transactions. Municipal Corporation has not only installed Credit Card accepting machines, but also come up with Janmitra Cards. Right now the corporation is issuing cards on pilot basis, but will launch it on a big way from April 1, 2017. Rahil Patel COO of the company, said, “The AMC also plans to give 10 per cent discount to those using the card. For travel in AMTS and BRTS a person can get 10 per cent discount, while he can even get discount for paying the taxes through cards.” Nilay Mehta the CEO of the company which has tied up with AMC, said that the 73 locations include Kankaria lake front, Sabarmati River front, and civic centres across the city. AMC prepaid card can be used not only for buying bus tickets but can also be used for paying charges at the AMC amusement parks and even for paying taxes and bills of the municipal bodies.

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COP22, Marrakech

Conference of Change Marrakech (Morocco): Climate change has assumed dangerous proportions and has caused weird weather phenomena world over ranging from incessant showers to abnormal heat waves. Keeping this in mind, national and international governments the world over have come onboard to tackle this menace.

Conference of Parties or COP22 organised the 22nd edition of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakech, Morocco to combat climate change and move towards building a world guided

by Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are touching dangerous levels and leading to climate change globally.

With 2015 being the warmest year on record, countries at COP22 opted for sustainable practises. Hakima El Haite, Moroccan Environment Minister remarked that countries such as China, USA and India that emitted 38%, 20% and 4.1% of GHG will have to commit more to developing green technology.

As per climate.nasa.gov, owing to unchecked industrialisation generating about 1.2 billion tonnes of waste and urbanisation projected to rise to 4.9 billion by 2030, global temperatures have increased by 1.70F , global sea level rose by 17 cm and CO2 emission has increased to 404.93 parts per million.

To counter this, Salaheddine Mezouar, Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister commented that, “It becomes crucial that countries step up and take charge of the scenario so that a doomsday scenario where human actions lead to earth’s extinction doesn’t become a reality.” COP22 builds on the promise of COP21 i.e. to limit global warming to below 20 C relative to pre-industrial level. COP22 aims to further enhance its stand by building on 2 points.

The first one called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) centres on each country taking up regulations in their country that would reduce GHG which are non-legally binding in nature. As per vanguardngr.com, President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, part of the African contingent assured that Nigeria would reduce emissions by 20% before 2030 and later on 45% with the help of international finance. Taking the case of Lake Chad where unseasonal flooding displaced nearly 1.2 million Nigerians, Buhari remarked that it was crucial that 193 countries that have re-affirmed their commitment to combat climate change actually do so. King Mohammed VI of Morocco announced its intention to raise its share of renewable electricity to 52% by 2030 deploying solar, hydro and wind power systems to generate close to 10000 Megawatts (MW). It hopes to achieve this by implementing a green legal framework aided by foreign direct investment (FDI).

The second part of this programme revolves around technology and skill transfer as well as monetary assistance. Countries that were part of COP21 agreed to a ‘Green Climate Fund’ committing USD 100 billion

which in the course of time saw actual fruition and were evident at COP22.

The ‘International Solar Alliance’ (ISA) was one of the major highlights of this collaborative effort. Indian Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave remarked, “ISA would be a major game-changer in the renewable energy market. With 121 countries already onboard, solar energy generation would become cheaper by almost 85 % since more countries are interested in green energy.” With France’s support India became the Interim Secretariat of ISA and announced its intention to install 175 Gigawatt of renewable energy by 2022 and would also assist other ‘Sunshine’ countries lying between the tropics to achieve renewable energy sufficiency. Al-Jazeera reports that India has installed the world’s largest solar power plant in Kamuthi, Tamil Nadu capable of generating 648 MW to enable powering, at full capacity, 150000 homes.

It is via persistent efforts of countries across the world that renewable energy can bring global change. As World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has remarked, “It’ll take the might of every nation on earth if we wish to see a world free from pollution, energy crises and overexploitation of resources.”

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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SDMC to install 75k LEDs at 2,500 spots

SDMC in a meeting on November 28, 2016 has approved the proposal for installation of 75,000 LED streetlights across south and parts of west Delhi. Delhi Police and Corporation have jointly surveyed in the city and identified 2,500 new spots where LEDs will be installed. Standing Committee chairman Shailendra Singh said, “The installation work will be completed by third week of January. We have already installed over 1.90 lakh lights. The back log of 25,000 poles without or with broken lights will also get replaced.

In December around 55,000 streetlights will be installed,” he added.

INC apprises High Court on road conditions City engineer, Ashok Rathore of Indore Municipal Corporation (INC) made the submission during hearing into petition seeking betterment of roads in the city. The Engineer told the Indore bench of High Court recently that the roads are in good conditions and the quality is excellent. He further filed a counter affidavit claiming that he personally checked 300 roads in seven days. The petition for this case was filed in 2014 with a photographic proof of the roads which were shown to be in poor condition.

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December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

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BMC to install 40 cameras to check rash biking

Mumbai: Installation of 40 license plate tracking devices or speed cameras on highways and important roads in South Mumbai is BMC’s new target, according to media reports. Marine drive, the Eastern Express Highway and the Western Express Highway are the main places of concern.

These important measures are being taken to prevent over speeding, and racing by bikers’ gang. The cameras will be equipped with an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system, according to a report in the Asian Age. The characters on the number

plates of the speeding vehicles will be automatically recognized by the ANPR system. Electronic challans can be used for taking action against the offenders.

The annual installation and maintenance cost of these cameras will be 2.14 crore.

Late night bike racing and over-speeding was a major cause of accidents in recent past, while it also threatens the normal speed drivers. Police find it difficult to catch over-speeders. Now, cameras would help them tracking the defaulters.

Mumbai Police is also to suspend or cancel the licenses of the repeat offenders.

MCC launches portal for lodging complaints Mysuru: Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) created a multiple platform to receive complaints related to civic issues. The MCC website has a tag of ‘Janahitha’ and an ‘Online Grievance’ for registration. The grievances are made for garbage clearance, filling of potholes, blockage of manholes, defunct streetlights, bad roads, etc. The complaints can be sent along with photos also and the municipal team will look into the matter by taking the same angle photos. One can even lodge a complaint by posting on social media websites like facebook, twitter and even send message on whatsapp or draft an e-mail. The complaints will be addressed within 12 hours. People can also telephone and complain or download the related app. The complainants can also track the status of their complaints online. After launching the online service, MCC Commissioner G Jagadeesha claimed that people can lodge a complaint in a minute.

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WaterAid Toilet Survey reveals facts

NewYork, USA: Sanitation and Clean Water collectively form the 6th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

With global population touching 8 billion by the next century, countries across the world are addressing sanitation issues which include providing adequate toilets to its citizens. UK based WaterAid on the eve of World Toilet Day on 19th November revealed some startling facts in its report ‘Overflowing Cities: The State of the World’s Toilets’. It mentions that nearly one in 5 city dwellers or about 700 million people practice open defecation due to lack of decent toilets.

Communal toilets, pit or bucket latrines is where majority of these people relieve themselves leading to, as in the case of Liberia, about 32% of kids being stunted due to onset of diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea. Globally, the number of afflicted children is nearly 159 million.

WaterAid mentions that war ravaged South Sudan, is in a bad condition. 84% of urban dwellers have no access to sanitation where one in two urbanites practice open defecation.

The Liberian Observer notes that due to lack of toilets, people defecate in the open on railway tracks, roadsides and

even in plastic bags, dubbed ‘Flying Toilets’. WaterAid Representative for Sierra Leone and Liberia Chuchu Selma has remarked that national governments need to pay sanitation workers better as well as involve multiple stakeholders ranging from civic bodies to NGOs to make the situation better. Closer home, India has the highest number of urban dwellers who lack access to safe and private toilets-157 million.

Despite the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’ launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, WaterAid mentions that sanitation shouldn’t centre around just building toilets, which currently are around 90 lakh, but must build a dedicated system of water availability, safe disposal and ecological waste management. With respect to China, it’s another case. As told to The Telegraph, Li Jinzao, head of National Tourist Administration, remarked around 50000 toilets would be built by the end of 2017 thanks to investments in the tourism sector amounting to USD 500 Billion.

The objective, Jinzao says, is to bring toilets upto a ‘3 star rating’ with closed doors for increased privacy and probably perfumed washes/sprays.

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SMC launches open data portal for public use

Surat Government portal has launched an open data initiative for the city. As a part of the Open Government Data (ODG) platform in India, the data is provided at the surat. data.gov.in. To publish datasets, documents, services, tools, applications for the public use, the portal is intended for the use of Government Ministries/ Departments and their sub-organisations. The portal currently lists 8 data catalogs. The Surat portal currently includes data sets related to property tax, details of the elected wing for the Surat Municipal Corporation, census data for Surat, professional tax registration data, vehicle registration details and birth and death data for Surat.

JMC raises parking fare in walled City Jaipur Municipal Corporation’s (JMC) finance committee recently approved the proposal of increasing parking fares.

Residents visiting the markets of the Walled city area will have to shell out more money for parking their vehicles. Rupees 5 increment on an hourly basis is the Committee’s plan. Also, the provision of free parking for two-wheelers will be restrained.

“The proposal to increase the rates was recently forwarded by the license committee. We have approved the proposal and rates will be increased after the next contractor is appointed,” said a finance committee member.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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Ministry of Urban Development finalizes Real Estate Rules for Delhi ♦♦ Delhi Government, municipal bodies, other stakeholders consulted ♦♦ Rules same as notified earlier for Union Territories without Legislatures New Delhi: Ministry of Urban Development has finalized the Real Estate General Rules and Rules for Agreement for Sale for the National Capital Territory of Delhi as required under the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016. Minister M Venkaiah Naidu approved these Rules, which have been formulated after consultations with the Delhi Government, New Delhi Municipal Council, three Municipal Corporations of Delhi, Delhi Development Authority and other stakeholders These Rules will be notified by the 27th of this month, the extended date in this regard.

The Real Estate Rules applicable to Delhi are the same as notified on October 31 this year by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation

for the five Union Territories without Legislatures. They, however, provide clarity on some aspects like litigation details to be published on website, provision for quality audit of projects and flexibility in agreement for sale.

Regarding publication of litigation details pertaining to the promoter on website, it has been specified such details in respect of litigations disposed of by the concerned court in the past five years in respect of projects developed or being developed may be published on website. This has been considered since a promoter may not have complete information about various cases filed, at the time of providing such information to regulatory authorities.

Delhi Rules also provide for regulatory

Ta’u emerges as complete solar city

Ta’u: Dependence on fossil fuels has led to increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to such an extent that conventions such as the Rio Summit in 1992 and the recent Paris Summit or COP21 (2015) needed to be held to check pollution. There have been efforts made by companies and individuals who have turned thought into action. Tesla Inc. led SolarCity undertook a pioneering programme to provide the American Samoan island of Ta’u with 1.5 MegaWatts (MW) of

20 December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

solar energy via installation of 5328 solar panels and 60 Tesla powerpacks in the form of a gigantic array. The array can run the entire island for 3 days on a full recharge on solar energy and requires just about 7 hours of sunlight to recharge. As per Business Insider, the project was undertaken alongside the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), American Samoa Economic Development Authority (ASEDA) and Department of Interior, Ta’u. Earlier, the island’s inhabitants required around

authorities to undertake third party quality audit of real estate projects registered with them, to ensure quality of construction, services etc., of the project in the interest of buyers With regard to the Rules for Agreement for Sale between the buyer and the promoter, flexibility has been proposed so as to include other elements or features besides the apartment, plot, garage, parking, if required. This has been provided to address special contingencies relating to the nature of projects to be taken up or the needs of buyers Under Section 2(g) of the Real Estate Act, Ministry of Urban Development has been mandated with the responsibility of making Rules for the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

11,000 gallons of diesel per year for their day to day activities which coupled with fuel importation led to an escalating energy bill. Now, thanks to scientific and economic investments from state and international bodies, Ta’u can claim to be among the world’s few habitation zones powered entirely by solar energy. The inhabitants of Ta’u feel that due to solar energy, power cuts have significantly gone down to the point that they have become rare occurrences. Solar Energy is an investment intensive project in the initial stages but in the later stages leads to significant energy savings. Due to clear skies and minimal vegetation around the solar panels in Ta’u, the Sunlightto-energy (STE) conversion is faster.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk feels, “The solar project in Ta’u is proof that green energy powering cities is not a mere fantasy but can become a reality if a concentrated effort from all stakeholders becomes more pronounced.”

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NMC to install 10K LED streetlights per month

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UD Ministry begins approval of Amrut plans Seeking to ensure timely implementation of basic urban infrastructure projects and achieve mission targets by 2019-20, the Ministry of Urban Development, in a paradigm shift has begun approving investments in water supply, sewerage networks etc., for the next three financial years under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). An Inter-Ministerial Apex Committee of AMRUT, Chaired by Rajiv Gauba, Secretary (Urban Development) approved investments of Rs 5,815 cr during 2017-20 in the States of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Bihar and Tripura. Total central assistance approved for these States was Rs 2,461 cr.

All cities to shift to cashless transactions

Nagpur: For the next 15 months, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) will be replacing 10,000 sodium vapour streetlights in the city with LED lights every month. Instead of 230 Volts, the new streetlights will run on 150 Volts system.

NMC has already installed modems to make the system automatic. This would prevent theft of power from streetlights and boost digitisation.

Further it would prevent power pilferers from tapping into the circuit. To prevent wastage of power, timers will be set. For each zone, 10 private companies will be appointed in place of a single contractor.

“We have started the process to oust the existing contractor. Final hearing will be held soon. Process will be over by the time new contractors are appointed,” an NMC official said.

The concept of single contractor has failed; responsibility distribution will make it hassle free. Recently, tenders

have been floated and contracts are likely to be awarded by January. In first three months, every contractor has to install 600 LED lights. Currently, Nagpur city has 1.26 lakh streetlights. Thereafter, each contractor would replace 10,000 lights per month. In this way, they would install 6,000 lights initially and remaining 1.2 lakhs lights in another 12 months. “Rs 150 crore cost will be met through saving of power. NMC’s power bill on streetlight comes to around Rs 40 crore per annum and is growing at 10% per annum. Cost of infrastructure augmentation and operation and maintenance will be borne by the NMC. Total expense on operation and maintenance, power bills and infrastructure replacement comes to around Rs 538 crore as per existing system for seven years. Rs 15 crore is to be spent on new infrastructure along metro rail’s corridors and would be borne by the NMRCL. NMC will save Rs 12 crore on it,” the official said.

Ministry of Urban Development has asked all the statutory 4,041 Urban Local Bodies to shift to e-payments at the earliest.

These cities and towns account for about 75 per cent of the total 40 cr urban population in the country. Central Government’s message to the officials of 4,041 urban local bodies was conveyed

by Rajiv Gauba, Secretary (UD) through interactive videoconferencing. Senior officials of concerned States also participated in the interaction on various aspects of ensuring cashless transactions. State and city level officials were asked to promote internet banking, online banking using credit and debit cards for cashless transactions besides using Public Finance Management Systems (PFMS) developed by the Ministry of Financing for fund transfer, accounting and reconciliation up to the level of cities and towns.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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events | Metropolitan Map

Metropolitan Lab on Maharashtra’s Sustainable Urbanisation

A new way of urban sustainable thinking By Pedro Ortiz–Short Term Expert, Ashwini Thakar–Coordinator, Loredana Donatelli –Short Term Expert, Ana Contreras Escribano– Programme Manager, Panagiotis Karamanos–Team Leader

M

aking mega cities more sustainable is a challenging process.

A European Union project that was funded by the Partnership Instrument addressed this challenge in Maharashtra through the delivery of a hands-on Metropolitan Lab. This initiative, which relied on teamwork and the expertise of diverse presenters and participants, led to the development of five realistic urban concepts that can contribute to sustainable urbanisation.

Consistent with previous cooperation between the European Union (EU) and India, such as the Strategic Partnership and Joint Action Plan, the EU-Mumbai Partnership was established in 2013. The aim was to build a long-term cooperation platform between the EU, Mumbai agencies, EU Member States, cities, regions, businesses and Mumbai First (a think tank) in order to address the challenges of urbanisation in Mumbai. Within this framework, the EU Delegation in India (EUD) is implementing through Acciona Ingenieria a new action for the “Preparation for an EU-India Sustainable Urbanisation Partnership.” This action includes a number of initiatives, including a one week Metropolitan Lab on sustainable urbanization.

The 6-day Metropolitan Lab on Maharashtra’s Sustainable Urbanisation (September 19-24, 2016) applied a new methodology with the collaboration of international institutions, such as the EU, UN-Habitat, Inter-American Development Bank, United Nations Center for Regional Development, and several universities. The objective of the Lab, which was based on

22 December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

hands-on projects and teamwork, was to explore in an interactive and comprehensive manner the challenges and opportunities for sustainable urban development in Mumbai, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Maharashtra. More specifically the Lab aimed to: ♦♦ Develop governance links among institutions by sharing common discussions and conceptual approaches. ♦♦ Examine the challenges and opportunities for urban development. ♦♦ Formulate an integrated territorial vision within which relevant spearheading projects could be identified. ♦♦ Build up a personalized ground for collaboration. ♦♦ Share the results, exchange views and develop synergies for other key Indian cities.

The Participants

A diverse group of participants from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), UN-Habitat, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology University (CEPT) Ahmedabad and other institutions worked in teams to comprehensively assess the implementation of specific projects. The Lab was generously hosted by MMRDA.

Methodology

Day 1 started with welcome remarks

by H Faergemann, First Counsellor Environment, Energy, Climate Change, Delegation of the European Union to India, UPS Madan, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA, S Joshi, CEO Mumbai First and P Ortiz, International Metropolitan Management Expert.

Day 1 continued by focusing on a conceptual discussion on the strategic future of Mumbai Metropolis in a global context, covering strategic positioning, selection of targets, prioritization of efforts, projects and finance, while considering the new regional plan developed by MMRDA. Experts, including R. Jha, Head of Development Plan of MCGM & Chief, Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee, Professor A Pethe, Economist, Mumbai University, R. Ramana, Executive Director Planning, MMRCL, and U Adusumilli, Chief Planner, MMRDA presented metropolitan issues related to governance, infrastructure, economics and planning. Some key messages suggest that the main goal of good governance in Maharashtra is to satisfy citizens by providing good services, while metropolitan regions are an Indian reality and will be the Indian future. It is also expected that Mumbai’s growth will take place along the existing railway corridors and enhancing connections for different means of transport are the most pressing projects to make future development possible. Finally, with 60% informal employment, the job situation is challenging.

U.P.S. Madan, Metropolitan Commissioner MMRDA mentioned,

“Cooperation with the European Union has provided EU and Indian participants with valuable first-hand experience in sustainable urbanization in both regions and has set the scene for future cooperation.”

H. Faergemann, First CounsellorEnvironment, Energy, Climate Change, Delegation of the European Union to India, said, “The Lab represents a unique practical experience and theresults will become a reference for future metropolitan management in India and elsewhere.”

On day two, the Lab focused on sectorial presentations for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region including transport, environment, housing and industrial development by specialists, including S Kumaraswamy, Managing Associate, WRI India, R Kumar, Director, NEERI, S Mahajan, Urban Planning, MTSU, and V Patil, Chief Social Development Cell, MMRDA. Public transport, especially the train, is the major means of mass transport in Mumbai region. Future development in the region should therefore foster Transit Oriented Development projects. Environmental issues will be widely accepted and understood by the population, if they are directly linked to people’s lives and the economy.

Long-term successful planning policies will improve housing conditions with strategic provision of services, transport, public spaces, education and health. Finally, the current economic development in the region is limited due to a large percentage of informal industry.

The expert presentations set the framework for the discussion on the future of Mumbai, the city’s role in the regional context of South Asia and the prerequisites to fulfil the requirements of globalization. Based on this discussion, from day 2 until day 5, the participants were divided into five teams that developed the following strategic projects: ♦♦ Environment: Reviving the ecosystem of MMR. ♦♦ Housing: Model housing project for MMR. ♦♦ Transport: Transport network for

sustainable FCR and MMR. ♦♦ Productive activities: Development of a central business district to boost office sector jobs in MMR. ♦♦ Land-use: Land-use plan for sustainable urbanization in MMR. Each team collected and analysed data; integrated information on planning, economics, governance, infrastructure, and other issues; exchanged ideas and views with experts; examined implementation issues; and prepared their reports and presentations.

The environmental team focused on creating continuity in the green systems at the regional level by connecting the environmental assets of the surrounding areas. Rivers as the skeleton of the entire green framework had a paramount role in the project, due to the necessity of regenerating water and conserving the ecosystem.

The productive activities team defined the major vocation of each economic hub, considering the connectivity links and existing activities. They focused on the new Central Business District across the bay of Mumbai between the new airport, the port and the crossing bridge to central Mumbai.

The transport team generated access to new land uses extending the road network in a reticular pattern parallel to the main existing north-south growth lines of Mumbai to the East and using the rail tracks to areas were urban centralities or TODs can be set to serve dense new housing development.

The housing team analysed the overall current scenario in MMR and estimated demand for housing according to the income distribution pattern for MMR. Finally, the land use team had the main role of merging findings of previous groups in a consistent way to allow Mumbai to play the international role of South Asia’s economic capital.

On day six, the teams presented their work to a broader audience of experts and interested parties on sustainable urbanisation. Furthermore, during the Lab observers from Chennai and Ahmedabad as well as from United Nations Habitat actively participated in the deliberations and shared their

experiences. Their presence was consistent with the EU’s objective to broaden the positive impacts of this initiative to the whole country.

EU experts on sustainable urbanization led the workshop and helped the teams to integrate the main components within the five projects. Pedro Ortiz, International Metropolitan Management Expert, exposed different urban perspectives along the week, helping the teams to reach the desired outcome.

N Nayar, Chairman, Mumbai First, expressed his deep appreciation for the excellent co-operation from the EU and mentioned “We are committed to continue working with the European Union in new initiatives which will contribute to addressing Mumbai’s urban and environmental challenges”.

One of the participants shared his view about the Lab saying: “It was an interesting experience indeed! I must say the different aspects being covered based on disciplinary learning, made every one of us to think about the future of the Mumbai region.”

Conclusion & Way Forward

Overall, the workshop methodology is a new way to strengthen governance at the metropolitan level and integrate the approaches of different administrations, tiers of government, institutions and agencies into an integrated vision. The value of this governance dialogue can lead to significant economic, financial, environmental, and social benefits. It also inspires both public authorities and the private sector to think “out of the box” and strengthen cooperation, in order to initiate innovative and forward-looking projects. Participants were very committed to the projects they developed during the Lab, bringing out “miracle results” as defined during the closing session by professor Pethe.

In order to give continuity to the results, a second Lab will follow in another Indian city, such as Ahmedabad, in early 2017. The experience can become a reference for future metropolitan management in India and smart cities development all around the world.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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Numerographs | Indian Urban Agenda

The bumpy road ahead Urbanisation took out almost 15 million people from poverty in last couple of decades. Despite producing a large chunk of national GDP, cities were ignored. Since Independence, only a few development initiatives were focused on improving cities. The NDA government changed the development narrative and steered it towards creating livable and smart cities flaunting world-class facilities and infrastructure. Indian Urban Agenda, recently launched by the central government, considers the challenges and opportunities on the basis of lessons learned from the analysis of urban data, and policies and projects already implemented.

Levels of Urban Poverty

Urban-Rural share of Net Domestic Product (Current Prices)

90 80 70

2011- Estimated

60 50

2004-05 Urban India Number of persons below poverty line 2011- Estimated 1999-00 (in million) YEAR

40 30

LEVELS OF URBAN POVERTY 20

Urban India Per centage of 1993-94 population below poverty2004-05 line

10 0

1980-81

2011- Estimated

1999-00 0%

2004-05 Urban India Number of persons below poverty line (in million) 1999-00 Urban India Number of persons below poverty line (in million)

0%

100%

1993-94 % Net Domestic Product Urban 1980-81

Urban India Percentage of population below poverty 1993-94 line

Urban India Per centage of population below poverty line

50%

% Net Domestic Product Urban 50%

100%

% Net Domestic Product Rural

% Population Shares Urban

% Net Domestic Product Rural0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

% Population Shares Rural

% Population Shares Urban

1980-81 % Population Shares Rural 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

YEAR

Urban Initiatives The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act

Urban Reform Incentive Fund(URIF)

Empower municipalities functionality, financially and politically

Eliminate systemic weaknesses so as to strengthen municipal finance and functioning

1992

2002

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Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM)

Eliminate structural and systemic weaknesses to create investment climate and to improve local governance and finance

2005

National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy (NUHHP)

Affordable housing for all with emphasis on vulnerable sections of society

2007

India’s Urban Transition Year

Number of Towns & Cities

Urban Population (in millions)

% of Urban Population to Total Population

Annual Exponential Growth Rate of Urban Population (in %)

1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011

1917 1909 2047 2219 2424 3060 2700 3126 3949 4615 5161 7933

25.8 25.9 28.1 33.4 44.1 62.4 78.9 109.1 159.5 217.6 286.1 377.1

10.84 10.29 11.18 11.99 13.86 17.29 17.97 19.91 23.31 25.71 27.82 31.15

0.03 0.79 1.75 2.77 3.74 2.34 3.21 3.83 3.09 2.74 2.76

Growth of Employment in Rural & Urban India (In Million) Smart Cities Mission

500

Urban renewal and retrofitting program making cities citizen friendly and sustainable

450 400 350 300 250

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

200 150 100 50 0 Self employed and casual labourers

Regular salaried

Total employment

Self employed and casual labourers

Regular salaried

Total employment

India Urban India Rural India

2004-05

2011-12

To enable better living and drive economic growth stressing on the need for people centric urban planning and development.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)

To provide affordable housing to urban poor Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY)

National Urban Livelihoods Mission

Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban)

Working towards slum-free cities via property titling and tenure security.

Reduce poverty and vulnerability of urban poor households by providing them with access to employment opportunities.

Major Cleanliness Drive in India

2011

2013

2014

Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)

Holistic development of heritage cities by encouraging aesthetically appealing, accessible, informative & secured environment

2015

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COVER STORY | Indian Urban Agenda

COVER STORY | Indian Urban Agenda

Shifting of Development Paradigm for Good!

26 December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

Gone are the days of old Gandhian maxim ‘India lives in its villages’. By 2030 forty percent of India’s population is projected to be living in urban areas. Urbanization is taking its toll on millions, with no safeguards against climate change. There has been a tectonic shift in the new urban agenda

Kumar Dhananjay Consulting Editor, Urban Update kd.urbanupdate@gmail.com

G

lobally, it is projected that two-thirds of the population will be living in urban centers by 2050. Cities in India and across the world might be contributing enormously to the gross domestic product but at the same time are also throwing challenges that are gigantic in proportion. One out of every six urban residents lives in

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COVER STORY | Indian Urban Agenda

slums. Social divides are increasingly widening and haphazard urbanization is taking its toll on millions Twenty years down the line from UN habitatII in Istanbul to UN habitat III in Quito we have travelled a long distance.

Old and New….

Let us have a look at the old urban agenda and the new one before we come to India’s response. Istanbul Declaration in 1996 called for ‘adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements in an urbanizing world’. Post that declaration, more than a hundred countries adopted constitutional rights to adequate housing. Habitat agenda’s influence, since then, has been wide ranging. It worked its way into Millennium Development Goals of 2000 that called for cities without slums.

So what is the new agenda? Much water has flown down the river in the last twenty years. A report submitted to the UN secretary general by a taskforce noted that ’70 percent of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2050’. The report also highlighted the development challenges that would come as a consequence of rapid urbanization. So, the imperative is to address those challenges and therefore a new urban agenda required innovative thinking and implementation. The New Urban Agenda attempts to address urbanization as a transformative force.

It also seeks to acknowledge that it can be an engine of ‘sustained and inclusive growth, social and cultural development and environmental protection’. There is a belated acceptance that in the last one decade more than fifty percent of the global population has become urban.

Though the acceptance has come late, it could still be a game changer and impact the way policies are formulated, designed and funded. Therefore, by “readdressing the way cities and human settlements are planned, designed, financed, developed, governed and managed”, the New Urban Agenda attempts to “end poverty and hunger in all its forms and dimensions, reduce inequalities, promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, achieve gender equality and

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the empowerment of all women and girls … improve human health and well-being, as well as foster resilience and protect the environment.”

Understandably, as the past two decades have seen ever growing inequality and polarization, the New Urban Agenda sought to focus on social issues and justice. More so because in this age of economic uncertainties, the life of urban poor depends largely on informal and daily wage jobs and they are forced to reside in slums and squatter settlements completely devoid of basic amenities.

India needs to rethink its urban strategy

In this backdrop, is it time for India to rethink and transform its urban policy?

There are many unanswered questions including why India’s participation at the Quito conference and run up to it was so low key and subdued even though it is not legally binding. The new agenda only provides a roadmap on how to lead urbanisation in a positive direction that would create more jobs, cheaper housing, cleaner energy, better transportation and greater social equity. Issues that are so crucial to a country like ours which is fast urbanizing.

If we look at the figures of the last census, slum population in India has gone up to sixty five million from fifty two between 2001 and 2011.

Still India along with other countries forced the dilution of urban agenda which had initially proposed a ‘rights based’ approach. Urban planning or urbanization is a new concept for India. The scenario started changing with the launch of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in 2005. And since then the governments of the day have been grappling with ever increasing issues of urban life and livelihood. In the past two and half years, the present government has launched a number of schemes like Smart Cities Mission and AMRUT among others. The government which played such an important role in Paris agreement on climate change seemed to have taken a back seat in this process.

India’s official participation in the run up to Habitat III and in the conference was rather low key. India did release its Habitat III National Report 2016, which underlined the country’s intention to implement the new urban agenda.

However, the details are not painting a particularly rosy picture. According to the report, between 2015 and 2030, India’s urban population is expected to jump from 428 million to 606 million, which means that over the next 15 years, we need to build 22 more cities like Bengaluru to accommodate the new urban residents. These numbers are mind blowing but it also brings with it enormous opportunities. At the same time the risks and challenges are also humongous. It is important that we keep the fundamentals of urbanization policy centered around the poor and neglected lots. We have seen a lot of impetus on urbanization in the present regime. The government of the day has unveiled an unprecedented focus on cities. But is it engaging in discussions over the new urban agenda. The situation has changed dramatically. Cities are a reality and so is the bourgeoning population. India has entered the urban age and with the policies of the present government, the country is poised to take a leap forward.

Is that so? Let us examine.

A Reality that is confronting the Country

“Urbanisation is one of the important realities of recent decades in India” says the national report released by the government. In a country of more than 1.2 billion people, if we take the figure of the last census, 377 million live in cities. India’s urban population is one of the highest in the world. Definitely by that yardstick India has entered the urban age. We also need to acknowledge the role of urbanization and cities to bring socio-economic transformation in the country. Cities are contributing almost sixty percent of the country’s gross domestic product. To give it a big leap forward government has initiated policies like smart city project which is seen as one of the prime drivers of future growth.

But in our urban strategy we also need to factor in the two realities of the time that is extreme wealth and extreme poverty. More than 14 million households in India live in slums. In other words, in the past ten years 3.5 million households have been added to the existing 10.15 million, a number higher than the entire population of many countries. With these numbers and trends that India is grappling with in its urbanisation drive, the question is why the government is holding back when it comes to active negotiation globally. In the words of Shipra Narang Suri of Habitat III General Assembly of Partners “official India has engaged in the process in fits and starts…mostly confined to reading pre-prepared statements in plenary sessions rather than engaging in any active negotiations”. In the run up to Habitat III the Indian delegation was relatively quiet through political negotiation.

This was not the case earlier as India has played an important role in the past on urban discussions. India was very active in advocating a new global goal on cities last year which is one of the United Nation’s sustainable development goals. It is quite ironical that a government which has set a goal of housing for all by 2022 stayed away from active engagement in this entire process.

Brighter Picture

But, on the brighter side, the government did release a national report for the first time with a candid picture of housing, human settlements and urbanization. Before releasing the report the government held wide consultations with the civil society groups, academicians and experts among others. So it is time that India played a pro-active role and shared its experience with the outside world.

The question that begs for an answer is what defines India’s urban strategy today. More than a decade after India opened up its economy and emerged at the global stage, the first key initiative on the urban front came in 2005 with the launch of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. The

program brought in the much needed reforms in urban governance but fell short on the implementation part. A decade later under the present regime, there has been a remarkable focus on urbanization. A number of projects have been launched to meet the urbanization target. India’s 128 page report also suggests India’s approach to urbanization has four main objectives.

Urbanization must “generate growth and enhance economic productivity and competitiveness; it should be inclusive and sustainable; it should aim at preservation and revitalization of culture and heritage; and it should contribute to the development of rural areas and strengthen ruralurban interdependencies”. A series of projects have been launched to achieve the above mentioned goals.

Apart from Smart Cities Mission, that seeks to enhance quality of urban life, programs like AMRUT, PMAY-Housing for All, Rurban Mission and Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana among others are in different stages of implementation. In that sense India has taken a giant leap in changing the discourse while talking about the cities. PM Modi defines the smart city “as one which is one or two steps ahead of the aspirations of the people”. The government also sees the Smart City Mission as an instrument to attract foreign investment in urban infrastructure. Countries across the world have shown keen interest in this initiative. It is however too early to say how this or any of the other new missions will ultimately play out on the ground — and to what extent they would help improve the lives of ordinary people.

Many urban experts also believe that government’s urban agenda does not factor in real problems faced by Indian cities like lack of access to basic services, burgeoning informal sector, the continued growth of slums, unsafe public spaces and inadequate public transportation. If the government’s new missions succeed, there will be an impetus for growth and greater use of technology in design and planning of the Indian city. But whether the

digital path and e-governance will widen the chasm between the ’haves’ and the ’have-nots’ and lead to further fragmentation of the city remains to be seen.

Right to the City

It was a major focus of Habitat III and also an important dimension in the negotiations. India along with the United States, Japan and the European Union opposed its inclusion in the draft New Urban Agenda. India opposed the inclusion of ‘Right to the City’ on the ground that its admission would mean that the country would have to adhere to the principle of social justice for all urban inhabitants and not merely the legally-recognised citizens. It was only on the insistence of Latin American countries like Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Ecuador and civil society groups that the RTC was retained.

Numerical influence notwithstanding, India does not appear to be playing a strong proactive role in the preeminent global discussion on urbanization today. It is not that India is not aware of the various problems plaguing Indian cities, nor that it is inactive, but “it sees the urban challenges in the country primarily as a domestic issue.”

If India has to make urbanisation sustainable, it must deal with and resolve the problems of multiple jurisdictions, weak revenue base and human resource capacity deficit that impact most of its cities. We must ensure that ‘no one is left behind,’ while formulating our urban agenda and it must be done with a human rights approach. This is the time for states to show a strong commitment to uphold the international legal and human rights obligations without any dilution whatsoever and to work collectively to redress the global housing, land, and habitat crisis. India and the world cannot wait another twenty years until Habitat IV to get this right.

Urbanisation is a huge process affecting billions of people. It is important to go back to fundamentals that probably have been a bit forgotten in the last three or four decades.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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Leaderspeak | Capacity Building

Ranjit S Chavan President, AIILSG

Skill India can help build competent municipal workforce No one can deny the fact that economic development supported by rapid and massive urbanisation in the past decade has brought down the poverty level in our country. Cities are undergoing remarkable positive transformation and require skilled manpower to sustain the change in operational management of cities. Linking certain components of Skill India Mission and livelihood programmes with urban development can be helpful in achieving desired objectives in both the domains

A

fter decades of neglect, cities are getting well-deserved attention from the central government.

A range of initiatives have been put in place for improving livability in cities that produce almost 65 per cent of national GDP. The government has shifted its focus on improving service delivery in cities and building sturdy urban infrastructure to boost economic development.

However, policy-makers and politicians are still finding it difficult to develop a functional mechanism,

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which effectively deals with burgeoning urban population in new and existing cities and to link it with economic development in urban areas.

However, there have been programmes to promote industrial development in urban centres for generating jobs for rural migrants moving to metro cities and existing unemployed population.

According to a recent survey by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), an independent economic think-tank headquartered in Mumbai, India’s rural unemployment rate stood at 7.15 per cent

and the urban rate stood at 9.62 per cent. The overall rate of unemployment in the country stood at 7.97 per cent, the index showed.

National Urban Livelihood Mission and Skill India Mission can help in bringing down the unemployment rate by inculcating skills required by the market in a particular region. Urban Local Bodies can also become a beneficiary under these programmes if they become active partners and create skilled workforce as per their evolving requirements.

This can be done with their association with

training institutes working in urban development related areas. Cities are evolving and the urban management is expected to witness a sea change with the genesis of several new urban development and management programs.

Skilled Municipal Workforce

Since the municipal staff in the country has been engaged in traditional ways of managing cities for decades without updating their skill sets or learning new skills to improve efficiency of service delivery, it is a matter of concern for urban local bodies how the new urban development programmes will be implemented as these demand skilled human resources for better results.

Municipal bodies need to train their existing staff or appoint skilled officials to achieve desired results as envisioned in the programmes launched by the central government.

For example, Smart Cities Mission talks about providing state-of-the-art facilities in several urban sectors to citizens. It is expected to embed technological innovation in water supply, waste management and traffic monitoring & management but most of the cities, barring a few metro cities, do not have such workforce which can implement such programmes successfully.

It is quite clear that economic development and urbanisation are closely linked. The government needs to invest hugely on creating skilled workforce for urban local bodies. Many reports suggest that much of India’s future economic growth is predicated on rising urbanisation, leading to growth in non-farm jobs and industrial-and servicesector output. It indicates that managing cities is as important as bringing in business or creating industry for providing jobs to the urban populace.

Efficient urban management must for economic growth

In these times, when most of the states and the central government are trying to bring in foreign direct investment in the country and promoting Make in India programme of the NDA government, it has become imperative to build skilled pool of manpower that can augment the pace of industrial development and attract more manufacturing and service industries in their respective territories.

The Skill India mission aims to train more than 400 million people in different skills by 2022. The prime minister’s one year target for the project includes starting 5,000 more Industrial Training Institutes to increase their capacity from 1.85 million to 2.5

million students, and setting up 50 overseas employment skill training centres in regions from which workers have traditionally migrated in search of employment. A new skills certification body, along the lines of the Central Board of Secondary Education, is in the works, an attempt to encourage skills training beginning at the secondary school level.

Government of India has taken a giant leap in the direction of creating a skilled pool of manpower in the country. However, it has neglected the requirement of municipal bodies which will help in running cities efficiently where the jobs are being created. Unless, we have a workforce which can run our urban centres efficiently, we cannot dream of cities which provide equal economic opportunities to all. The governments, both state and centre, should include urban management programmes in the curriculum of activities planned under the Skill India Mission and National Urban Livelihood Mission. The step would strengthen the capacity building programme planned under the AMRUT. And, it will not just provide a major opportunity to prospective candidates targeted to be trained under the mission but also build up a skilled workforce for urban local bodies. These trained candidates could turn out to be the managers of tomorrow’s cities.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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one on one | Pradeep Kumar Saxena

A new approach to urban planning!

Urban dwellers in India struggle with chaos, pollution, dirt, absence of safety norms for citizens, and much more. Yet cities are growing, migration is on the rise and planners are going about implementing their own tried and tested methods of accommodating more people into our cities. All this is happening rather mindlessly and mechanically.

Well, at times we do hear someone talking about habitable cities. Pradeep Kumar Saxena, a veteran architect and urbanist speaks to Urban Update and presents a new perspective on urban development

Abhilash Khandekar National Political Editor Dainik Bhaskar kabhilash59@gmail.com

You have placed before the country an entirely new urbanism approach.

What is the reason for suggesting a complete change in city planning?

We all have noticed that pollution, congestion, crimes, commuting time, etc. have been increasing every year at a fast pace in every Indian cities, deteriorating life of urban citizen year by year. Most important basic reason for this trend is faulty urban planning.

Reading your exhaustive book, one gets an impression that nothing is right about the current practice of urban planning in India. Is that so?

I profess to retain basic principles of applied geometry, shift from selected planner’s vocabulary and emphasis on certain necessary things we had been neglecting in our urban planning in last 100 years.

Have you had wide ranging consultations across the country to propagate your idea among planners and policy makers?

Yes, I have interacted with planners, scholars, policy makers, media professionals, army, navy, air force and BSF officers, doctors, educationists, engineers from various disciplines, industrialists, builders, businessman, bankers, risk factor evaluators, rural citizens and urban poor, etc. for one to one and group discussions in different Indian states. I am also in regular touch with professionals in US, Canada, Australia and Europe. Some National level workshops are still required to be organized preferably by Government.

India has been known for scientific urban planning since Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro civilisations. Where did we go wrong in the last couple of centuries?

We blindly adopted colonial planning norms. After Second World War, Europe got a chance to do most of their cities afresh and changed norms formulated

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in early 20th century. We continued with old thinking and started enforcing them at large scale after 60s.

Have you taken into consideration the role of local self-governing bodies or panchayats when you talk of new planning areas and processes?

The Constitution was amended perhaps in early 90’s to give powers related to the subject to local selfgovernments and panchayats. Still these powers and responsibilities have not been transferred fully to them by state govts. For example in MP still city master plans are being prepared by state governments and not local self govt. Present law is not very clear about green field cities. As a matter of routine, laws are made, amended and removed

as per social requirement. However any major change in law will not be required to execute the suggested plan for human settlement.

Well, I agree our cities are in a mess, but is a complete U-turn possible now?

Total U-turn is not required. My plan is to reduce load on existing urban centres by making some new cities with much better opportunities. The plan is to provide rural and inter-city migrants with superior housing & amenities with progressive employment with limited involvement of the govt. The plan gives a solution to do it in the most economical way and with flexibility in the speed to match the reduction or increase in flow of natural migrants. It

Rethinking Urbanism Much before this ‘New Urban Agenda’ was declared at Quito on October 20 this year, PK Saxena, an Indian architect, had been grappling with the idea of providing an entirely new urbanisation model for the country of 1.2 billion people on exactly the same lines.

According to the author ‘this cost-effective India-specific model of urbanisation human settlement’ will provide strong urban infrastructure leading us to urbanism, economic growth and a strong social set up which does not exist as of now. The plan projections are for 2040 and expects 30 crore rural migrants and beyond into the cities. The model talks about provision by the Government for a revolving fund, using only one per cent of arable land required to be diverted for urbanisation from agriculture use by 2040. The funds would be paid back to Government under a formula (by those who would buy lands for development after these cities are created) and thus are again available for another set of cities. He mentions that 100 such cities would be created, if strict timelines are maintained, in 26 years.

It would also create new opportunities for professionals, from accountancy to administration and agriculture to aviation, besides of course in other sectors like finance, health tourism and transport, to name just a few. Meaning thereby a huge scope for employment is factored into the plan.

After giving extensive details of the present-day ills and suffering or data of problem-ridden Indian urban scenario, Saxena offers to set up new cities away from the existing big cities, say between Ahmedabad and Baroda or Indore and Bhopal, utilising non-arable land. His model stipulates that new cities would be located on low cost land, of course under government ownership with many benefits. They will be smaller cities, manageable cities.

The argument in the new approach is that the satellite towns created in India for decongestion of the cities like Delhi and Mumbai have not worked out well. Noida, Gurgaon, Navi Mumbai for example, are in the close vicinity of the metro cities and have added to the problems and the purpose was defeated.

will also enable us to base development plans of existing cities on facts instead of assumptions.

If I presume your alternate plan for entire country is to be implemented, how many years will it take?

In India urban population is 31% (though some states are touching 50% mark and states like Bihar have only about 12% population living in urban centres), world average is about 50% and most of rich countries have an average of about 80%. It can only be assumed whether India will touch 70% or 80% mark? It is also debatable whether process of urbanisation will be completed by 2070 or 2100. At present about 1.0 crore rural citizens are moving to urban centres every year and it is calculated assumption that India’s 50% population will be living in urban areas by 2050. The model proposed by me is for overall human settlement in our country. Its execution will result into minimizing long distance migration and reduction in migrations by 25% (migration in India is neither a subject of centre nor state govts.). It will bring closer the final date of completion of the process of urbanisation and restrict the urban population percentage to 65.

It will also result into nearly uniform urbanisation in every state.

What’s your take on Smart cities scheme? Will they bring peace and end chaos in cities or there is something more than meets the eye?

No comments.

Finally, who will, if at all, undertake such a gigantic plan?

To undertake the plan we will have to train professionals. It will be useful if we create a separate cadre for the work. Since the plan is proposed to be implemented by rotational funds, we will be able to rotate the skilled human force also and the work will run smoothly after initial teething trouble usually faced in every new work. The work is to be initiated at PMO level as it will have impact on thinking in at least 18 ministries and require co-ordination between them.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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Article | Habitat III and Urban Paradigm

The Cities We Need

towards a new urban paradigm

well planned urbanization, high productivity and something unheard of in the capitalist world to ‘prevent land speculation’. Now this is quite a paradox the way urbanization has developed in the major cities of the world. In fact land speculation has been one of the key drivers.

Call for Action

Tikender Singh Panwar Deputy Mayor, Shimla

T

he world Habitat III (the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development), a unique global event, had extensive discussion on the many urbanisation subjects. But the point is who will take it forward.

The national governments made their commitments to implement the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda. However not being mandatory, I hope the Habitat III Agenda does not become a wish list which apparently seems quite radical.

For example para 3 of the declaration states, “..the persistence of multiple forms of poverty, growing inequalities, and environmental degradation, remain among the major obstacles to sustainable development worldwide, with social and economic exclusion and

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spatial segregation often an irrefutable reality in cities and human settlements.”

The agenda as I have stated is quite radical and speaks about its mandate to end poverty and hunger, reduce inequalities, promote sustained inclusive and sustainable economic growth, achieve gender equality and stresses on women and girls empowerment and gives another new term called ‘foster resilience’ and protect the environment.

As far as shared vision of the respective governments is concerned it is stated that the foremost vision is ‘cities for all’ to promote inclusivity and ensure that all inhabitants, of present and future generations without discrimination of any kind are able to inhabit and produce just, safe, healthy, accessible, affordable, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements to foster prosperity and quality of life for all.

Para 13 envisages 8 visions for human settlements that speak about inclusive growth and access to public utilities to all in the urban habitations.

Similarly para 14 speaks about ‘our principles and commitments’ which are quite amazing and more of theoretical jargon than actual reality on ground. It has a,b,c three principles which it states are interlinked and interestingly it lays emphasis on eradication of poverty,

New Urban Agenda has a call for action, which also speaks about the implementation strategy which is more of an integrated planning process and seems quite a distant dream especially in the developing world where the city governments are just adjuncts of the state governments except a few states where the Left ruled or had its imprint.

The New Urban Agenda also focuses on the urban governance structure which sounds quite interesting and calls for establishing a supportive framework. Para 86 is quite explicit about it, “We will anchor the effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda in inclusive, implementable, and participatory urban policies as appropriate to mainstream sustainable urban and territorial development as part of the integrated development strategies and plans supported as appropriate by national, sub-national and local institutional and regulatory frameworks ensuring that they are adequately linked to transparent and accountable finance mechanisms.”

Implementation in India

Why I am worried that it would remain a wish list is because when I asked the Indian Delegation about the way forward they were quite confident in saying we know everything and have decided the way forward in the form of Smart Cities, AMRUT, etc. I did not wish to mention there that the way smart cities are being rolled out is actually the reverse of the Habitat III Agenda and virtually like writing the obituary of the 74th Constitutional Amendment! Anyway the point is how I, who am engaged with urbanization and the manners of urbanism view this conference for I was there for over 4 days and what is it that I am concerned

about. I think while speaking about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), resilience or the New Urban Agenda it is imperative to understand that the cities are not just about the inorganic material consisting of mere infrastructure but constitutes the organic material, set of relations in between the socioeconomic dynamics of the system, what I call the forces of production or the base. So it is this base which is of utmost importance to understand, which way the cities are getting evolved. Remember what Haussmann did for Paris or Moses for many of the US cities is not a sustainable model of development as has been proven by history itself. So Sustainable Development Goals have to focus on sustainability of the people and not just the geographical boundary of a city. I was a witness to many of the discussions of the grassroots stakeholders where they have expressed their complete displeasure over what they call the 90% informal sector producing people being unheard within the cities. Apparently before being the Deputy Mayor of Shimla I too was leading one of the stakeholders and that was the street vendor’s movement. So to speak about sustainability and resilience is I believe quite compatible to each other and these two speak to each other quite in harmony. But the point is who commands or drives the city. Is it planned and organized or spontaneous?

I would say it is both; it is planned and also spontaneous.

I would like to quote from Lefebvre´s infamous quote of the cities ‘producing the surplus’ out of human sweat and hence ‘right to the city’ is not just a moral right, it is economic and political as well. What I intend to demand and say is that there is nothing wrong while this surplus is being produced after all, all capitalist economies would do that, this is how the economies are driven. My concern is about the ‘democratization of this surplus’. Actually this term was coined by David Harvey. How does that happen and who will do it. I think this is one of the foremost questions today. But I am sure without this the entire model of sustainability and the achievement of SDGs would be a distant dream, and

here I would like to quote Joan Clos, the Secretary General of UN Habitat III in one of his famous speeches where he said, “if the system is inherently unsustainable how can you expect the sustainability of the people”. Hence I am so concerned about the democratization of this surplus which would mean democratizing the institutions of the people to build their resilience for not just empowering the local bodies but the people. Of course the local bodies happen to bear the entire brunt of urbanization but hardly being empowered especially in the developing world. In India just 1% of the GDP is spent on the municipal expenditure.

Hence this democratization is required.

I have always been championing this phrase of the national governments ‘plan and decide and pass’, the state governments in similar fashion ‘decide, plan and pass’ whereas the city governments ‘plan, decide and pass’ nowhere but ‘execute and implement’ all that has been decided at the top.

The body that has a direct connection with the people is the least empowered.

Apparently in developing world they are at the mercy of the state or provincial governments.

‘Right to City’

Therefore democratization or resilience would mean empowering them and the people. For this various models can be formulated and discussed. But the foremost model that needs to be championed is ‘right to the city’ which is an inalienable right of the people.

However with cities gravitating towards the rich and the upper middle class, this right too is under threat. The new paradigm of urban governance (especially in the developing world, India being the classical example) which is neo liberal which means the utilities and service delivery mechanism will either be privatised or will mount tremendous burden on the people and hence the right to the city or the democratization of the surplus becomes an arduous task. I remember when we (the Mayor and I are from the CPIM) got elected, the first job for us was to privatize water in the city. We blatantly

refused and now with sheer practice and our engagement we have been able to create a new utility for water and sewerage which will be more effective and pro-people.

Local Bodies and Cities

Therefore the issues in the cities which will haunt the people are the shrinking of the public services and utilities and the escalating costs that they are forced to pay. The travesty is and will be that the people will pay but still would be facing deficits in the services. Similarly the issues of mobility and sanitation are not mere technical ones but concern this space of democratization of surplus.

For whom does the city move and where is the space for the working people who generally are pedestrians or who move by public transport. This space is shrinking and is being encroached upon by the urban middle classes. I remember an anecdote when I was in Leipzig, Germany for a fellowship programme on urban mobility and enquired about their strategy and the reason for reducing their 8 lanes road to 6 lanes. The prompt answer was that the new spaces need to be handed over to the pedestrians and the cyclists.

Interestingly Leipzig happens to be the city which produces the Porsche car, one of the very expensive ones and I asked who then are you manufacturing these cars for! Again the reply was prompt and it was for ‘you’. That is for us in developing world and India. And I could easily draw a correlation between our national governments strategy for announcing national highways, widening roads and massive money being pumped in by the World Bank for these activities and the vulnerability we are put into.

Hence these are not just issues in isolation but real class issues of the working people in the cities who require and demand theoretical comprehension of the problems that they face owing to the new paradigm of urbanization and then finding small interventions and solutions for their future ‘right to the city’. Hence I have this impending fear and I wish that Habitat III does not restrict itself to a mere ‘wishlist‘.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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one on one | Dr Ranjeet Mehta

Urban services are over-burdened, need immediate, intensive care With more people coming to cities, urban centres require better housing and basic services for the increasing population. In an interview with Urban Update, Dr Ranjeet Mehta, Director, Housing and Urban Development, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, talks about the areas which need immediate attention to handle the burgeoning urban population Kumar Dhananjay Consulting Editor, Urban Update kd.urbanupdate@gmail.com

India is witnessing urbanisation at an unprecedented speed. But that has thrown multiple challenges as well. In your assessment is India able to deal with these adequately?

About 377 million people from India’s total population of 1.25 billion are urban dwellers. With more than 10 million people migrating to cities and towns every year, the total urban population is expected to reach about 600 million by 2031. Furthermore, between 2015 and 2031, the pace of urbanisation is likely to increase at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.1 per cent, which is estimated to be almost double of China’s growth rate. The problem is further compounded as there are only a few urban centres in India that promise better prospects than most cities and towns -leading to much more pressure on their infrastructure and housing-and

36 December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

resulting in disordered urbanisation.

This is reflected in almost 65.5 million Indians who, according to the country’s 2011 Census, live in urban slums and sprawls.

Another problem is that the country’s existing urban transport infrastructure is already over-capacity.

This fact-coupled with the alarmingly high rate of traffic fatalities, increasing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, congestion, and urban sprawl-has created a sense of urgency to improve the quality of life in our cities now for the benefit of future generations.

One of the measures the new government has taken to tackle this problem is announcing 100 smart cities. Mr Modi in a speech said “Cities in the past were built on riverbanks.

They are now built along highways. But in the future, they will be built based on availability of optical fiber networks and next-generation infrastructure.”

What are the problem areas and concerns? Our urban centres are bursting at the seams. Infrastructure is crumbling and not able to cope with the burgeoning population. What would be your prescription to fix it?

Some of the major problems of urbanisation in India are: Urban

Sprawl, Overcrowding, Housing, Unemployment, Slums and Squatter Settlements, Transport, Drinking Water, Sewerage Problems, Solid Waste Management and Disposal, Urban Crimes, Problem of Urban Pollution.

Given this scenario, it becomes critical to fill the existing gaps in the country’s strained urban infrastructure and in particular, housing. As per the Economic Survey of India, EWS (economically weaker sections) and LIG (lower income groups) together account for 95.6 per cent of the urban housing shortage in the country, and it would be important to address the need of this significant segment of population.

As a business body and you are also the director of housing and urban development at PHDCCI do you see an opportunity even in these troubled times?

Yes there are huge opportunities in Indian urban infrastructure space.

Government vision of Housing for All by 2022 offers humongous opportunities for affordable housing sector and 100 smart cities. India is facing a shortage in urban areas at the moment and more housing would be required in order to meet future demand. This demand comes from the economically weaker sections due to lack of housing policies.

Some parts in India have introduced public-private-partnership policies, which have led to the development of housing.

What would be the larger impact of this phenomenon on the urban centres?

With 100 smart cities and Housing for All and other initiatives like Digital India, Clean India, there are enormous opportunities for all in Indian infrastructure development.

We are in the age of smart cities. In India too we have started talking about it now. What kind of a role you think business can and is playing in building new cities?

Cities are seeking partners and suppliers to collaborate on ambitious

programs for sustainability, innovation in public services, and economic development that depends on significant technology investments.

The leading players in this market not only have the capacity to provide leadership on large-scale projects spanning multiple city requirements, but also delivering smart infrastructure, IT, and communications solutions to cities, supporting cities across multiple operational and infrastructure issues, and have established a global presence.

While shifting investment towards technology-savvy infrastructure in cities can be seen as a positive step, regulating how this technology is leveraged will be key in creating onthe-ground change. New technologies offer the potential for safer, more efficient cities with higher quality of life. This potential can only be realized, however, through effective governance that leverages technology to respond to the needs of citizens. At the end of the day, 100 smart city development is an opportunity to learn from and improve upon failures in urban governance to enhance quality of life for all.

India now explicitly recognises the role and importance of urbanisation for socio-economic transformation.

Urban areas contribute almost sixty percent of GDP. Smart cities are seen

as prime drivers of growth. Do you see a paradox here? The entire focus is on building new smart cities but little attention to the hinterland.

The birth of smart cities creates a chance to catalyze progress in three key areas: 1) Improved governance structures and practices; 2) Equitable economic growth and access to basic services; 3) Human connectivity through mobile and internet connection.

Many Indian cities lack adequate cooperation among different sectors of government, and instead focus too often on public-private partnerships without first focusing on coordination across government departments. This can result in ineffective spending that fails to create sustained impact. Smart cities should also be evaluated based on their ability to provide equitable economic opportunity and access to basic infrastructure for all residents.

Like effective governance, widespread access to basic infrastructure is a prerequisite for effective technologydriven urban improvements. When pursuing increased competitiveness and economic growth, smart cities cannot lose sight of the challenges faced by India’s urban poor.

Housing for All by 2022 is the slogan of this government. I assume that governmental agencies cannot

achieve this target. So private players have to play a big role if this target is to be achieved. How private players and business bodies can contribute in this effort?

Yes here comes the role of state governments as land is a state subject. The state governments need to be proactive and create enabling environments for private sector to invest in Housing for All. I feel there is ample opportunity for private sector here but the land acquisition and infrastructure development has to be done at a faster pace.

Demonetisation is the buzz word these days. Liquidity has vanished from the market. There are no new launches happening on the housing front. In this scenario do you think that this entire urbanisation program is going to be severely hit?

Demonetization is a short term pain and long term gain. India is moving towards cashless economy. This will bring transparency in our business deals and ultimately good for the economy. I think the situation should be normal very soon within few months.

Do you see a shift in urban agenda and if yes what is that?

I think that the government has acknowledged the importance of the housing issues in the country in the current five-year plan. The smart city programme is another attempt to improve the situation in urban areas. The solution, however, to the affordable housing crisis would be focussed efforts on land and housing policy reforms, delegation of power to urban local bodies, fostering innovative housing finance, and the reduction in project costs and schedule overruns.

Additionally, planned urbanisation and other initiatives of the government should ensure that towns and cities are free from slums and also simultaneously provide for adequate opportunities for gainful employment as also an optimum quality of life to all citizens, including the marginalised sections of society. If, and when, this happens will be important to see.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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Article | Currency Ban

Demonetisation affects real estate most Kumar Dhananjay Consulting Editor kd.urbanupdate@gmail.com

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ong serpentine queues outside ATMs and banks are the ‘new normal’ in India post demonetisation.

A situation that is likely to continue for some more time. Prime Minister Modi himself has asked for

38 December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

fifty days to bring the situation to normal that is till 31st of December.

Replying to a question at a summit, Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman said “it seems like a highly disruptive way to deal with the problem of illicit hordes of cash, though it is not clear what significant long terms gains will come of it”. And pat came the reply from the government. Power Minister Piyush Goel said that he does not know why people are surprised that it is disruptive.

It was meant to be disruptive. So it

is not just about disruption in people’s lives but also in industry sectors. And one of those crucial sectors is real estate. Though it contributes about seven percent to the GDP it is also tainted, said to be dealing in lots of cash and black money. So what has been the impact of demonetisation on real estate in the past one month? What are the worst fears of the sector post this announcement? What is going to be the short and long term impact of it?

Will prices go down in the near future due to the massive cash crunch? Will it completely erode the cash component in the sector both in the primary and secondary market? These are some questions that are confronting the sector while buyers are silently waiting for uncertainty to subside.

The first impact has been that the sudden ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes has resulted in

a situation of limited or no cash in the market to be parked in real estate assets. Till now the real estate sector has been know for usage of cash.

The sale of dwelling units has gone down drastically in the last one month.

Aakash Jindal, who keeps a close eye on real estate sector, says that there are two reasons for it. First, he says, ”earlier beyond the circle rate, the difference between circle rate and market price was usually paid in cash but now the cash has been squeezed and there is high monitoring of cash impacting the real estate sector adversely. This was already down and there was high leverage in the sector.

So there is a perception that real estate sector was already in bad shape and now with shortage of cash and its tight monitoring is impacting the sector negatively and that is evident”.

Secondly, he adds, “the sale of dwelling units has gone down drastically because in the past one month since demonetization, people are busy in going to banks and withdrawing cash, more concerned about meeting their daily expenses. So when one’s mind is preoccupied with day-to-dayissues, real estate is the last thing on their mind. So people who were planning to purchase homes have deferred it. They want complete clarity before they decide to buy a house. Adding to the woes is the fact that there are talks that the economy would be adversely affected”.

With housing the last priority in the minds of the people standing in a queue for their daily survival, what will be short and long term effect on the real estate sector? With liquidity being severely affected, the move is likely to result in deflation with limited sales in the next quarter. Demonetisation has taken the sector by storm and all the stakeholders, be it developers, buyers, owners or brokers will need time to analyse its impact on their business.

Long-term impact on the realty market

There is a view that initially it does appear chaotic but in the long run this policy is likely to prove positive for the real estate sector. Anshuman Magazine

of leading real estate brokerage firm CBRE says “It certainly helps that the real estate industry has already moved towards transparency in its operations.

Several steps taken by the Government in recent times—from the Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to REITs— combined with this announcement, will further improve transparency and increase investor confidence in the real estate market in the long run. This will be a landmark decision in imposing the much needed transparency in real estate transactions particularly in the housing sector”.

Will real estate prices go down

Opinion is divided on this count. The cash component is most prominent in land transactions. The government’s decision is likely to impact land prices.

Land transactions and/or sales of plots are expected to dip in the shortterm, especially in the unorganized real estate segment. Industry experts believe that the housing market will experience a lull in the coming months, as these developments take their toll.

Homebuyers can expect property prices to come down in certain pockets, which would provide an opportunity for them to make their move. Rohit Gera, MD, Gera Developments asserts, “There is no doubt that sales which involve the exchange of cash will be affected.

This will impact land prices too. If land prices crash on this account, there will be a likelihood of property prices coming down as well.”

But not everybody agrees that demonetisation will automatically bring prices down. Realtors’ body Credai says “real estate prices have a chance to rise by about 20% in the next one year post demonetisation as builders go slow on new launches, introduction of the new regulatory bill and higher input cost. New launches are expected to dry up rapidly as realtors adopt a wait and watch approach and customers anticipate a further drop in housing prices”. This situation is likely to aggravate as new approvals will be slow and builders will have to

be more compliant with the Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA) which comes into effect next year.

Data shows that new projects and launches are slowing down in all the top cities. There have been very few launches and fresh offerings in the last one month. Developers are trying to sell the existing inventory and not add to it. Aakash Jindal says “as far as customer is concerned he has to go and buy the flat whether it is in primary or secondary market. Also the fact that we are talking about housing for all by 2022 and we know that government agencies are not doing that much of construction so private developers have to pitch in. I expect that government would incentivize the developers and if that happens, price correction may not happen”.

Pricing of real estate is very opaque unlike the stock market. In the stock market a monitor shows the price of a particular share. In real estate there is no mechanism to know the exact price. In stock market every share would have a specific price at any given point of time but in real estate it is always invisible.

Developers have gone slow on new launches in the last couple of years as sales remain sluggish, inventories have piled up and debt levels have reached alarming proportions. All these have impacted this crucial sector which contributes about seven percent to India’s GDP. So if the real estate sector remains sluggish there is a fear that it can affect the overall GDP growth.

Industry insiders believe that it must not happen because it will have a cascading effect. Therefore everything that needs to be done must be done so that it does not affect GDP growth adversely.

A revived demand for new projects in the market would require fair and transparent pricing. Demonetisation could also mean fresh sources of funding for developers to complete their projects. One hopes that demonetisation has ushered real estate into a new era that would be transparent, corruption-free and better organized.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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Article | Green Buildings

Green Buildings in India, beginning made but long way to go Aakash Mandyal am.urbanupdate@gmail.com

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ndia’s ancient buildings speak of civilization that was in harmony with nature. Historically our relation with the environment and surroundings was in perfect equilibrium. But the scenario has completely changed. At this crucial stage where our planet earth is battling with issues like global warming and rapidly growing population, the realization of the need for sustainability has gained remarkable momentum.

Climate change, caused by release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, has been among the greatest threats of the 21st century. According to the National Energy Agency, existing buildings are responsible for more than 40% of the world’s total primary energy consumption and 24% of global carbon dioxide emissions.

As India continues to grow, by 2030 it is likely to have a GDP of four trillion USD and a population of 1.5 billion.

Energy consumption in India is also on the ascent due to sharp urbanization, population explosion and intensive growth of sectors like IT. After economic reforms of the 90s, India has emerged as one of the faster growing economies. There are over one billion people living in the country and there is rapid increase in migration from rural to urban centres. Consequently, the energy demand for domestic and commercial purposes has also increased greatly. Around 6.5% of India’s GDP is contributed by the construction industry especially the commercial and residential sectors, automatically leading to higher energy consumption by this sector. This sector is expected to grow five-fold by 2050 as about 70% of

40 December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

the commercial and high-rise residential structures that will exist in 2030 are yet to be built. There will be a substantial increase in the consumption of energy in Indian buildings. The fourth report of IPCC has urged all to pay attention to the carbon emissions from the building sector. The report published a comparative study wherein it was found that among all the sectors evaluated, the building sector is the most capable of lowering carbon emissions in any country.

It is now a crying need to abolish all those practices which are degrading the environment. Green and sustainable construction is a significant issue because buildings impact the global environment significantly. In such times the concept of “Green Building” which uses less water, optimizes energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier space for occupants, as compared to conventional buildings, is the only way for the construction industry to move towards achieving sustainable development.

Green Building practices aim to reduce the environmental impact of buildings through environmental friendly construction practices. Further, a Green Building does not cost much more to build than a non-greenor conventional one. A Green Building is one, which incorporates several green features and facilities.

India’s oil consumption comprises largely imports and the country’s own reserves are likely to last only 19 years.

Therefore it has become very important for the country to adopt the idea of Green Building. Green Buildings are also not prone to political disagreements, unlike other clean development measures. This makes Green Building a very attractive

option for government to pursue.

In India, the concept of Green Building was started by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). It formed the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), which is actively involved in promoting the green building concept in India. In the 1990’s for the very first time, Green Building movement was pioneered in Great Britain. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) a star rating program for building which is a product of USGBC (United States Green Building Council), was launched in India in 2003 and LEED was adopted from the BREEM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) system and came into existence sometime in March 2000. GRIHA is another building rating system in India developed by The

Energy and Resource Institute (TERI).

GRIHA certification system consists of 34 criteria for rating under 4 categories namely site selection and planning, building planning and construction, building operation and maintenance, and innovation.

Vision of Indian Green Council (IGBC) is “To enable sustainable built environment for all and facilitate India to be one of the Global leaders in sustainable built environment by 2050”.

Till the year 2006 developers in India were reluctant to adopt the concept of Green Building. In the absence of any incentives, developers or buyers were not interested given the cost implications.

Since then there have been several initiatives by the governments and other bodies to address sustainability in the construction sector and now there is rapid adoption of green building concept in construction. To encourage people towards adoption of green buildings, currently in India there are various types of incentives available through adoption of GRIHA. Projects that are GRIHA precertified will be provided with fast track environmental clearances, a capital subsidy is given on solar photovoltaic panels, annual awards are given to five-

star GRIHA rated buildings. Ministry of Urban Development, government of India has announced free of cost one to five percent extra ground coverage and FAR (Floor Area Ratio) for GRIHA rated projects of plot size more than 3,000 sq. m (Noida, Greater Noida, and Punjab have implemented this policy). To promote green buildings, banks have also taken the initiative.

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has announced a scheme of providing financial assistance at a concessional rate of interest to GRIHA rated projects. For GRIHA compliant projects, processing fee waiver from SBI for home loans and a 0.25% rebate on interest is available.

To encourage corporate to move towards green buildings, tax benefits will work remarkably. If we see the present scenario, we can observe that countries which are leaders in implementing green buildings also provide various incentives. There appears to exist a direct co-relation between incentives and the development of green buildings. Counties like the US, Germany, Netherlands, China, Australia and Singapore have provided their corporates with huge incentives to promote the concept of green buildings.

It is encouraging to know that green building concept is widely being adopted in the Indian real estate industry.

However, efforts are not enough and a greater push is required to make real estate development sustainable. In the next three-four years about 200 million sq. ft. of commercial space and 45 million of retail space is expected to be constructed across the major cities of India. The performance of green buildings and its trend in India indicates that with the emergence of new building techniques and materials the percentage increase in the initial cost as well as the payback period for green buildings has reduced. In Govardhan Eco Village in Thane district of Maharashtra, the community has constructed buildings with compressed stabilized earth blocks (CSEB), Rammed Earth technique, Cob Houses and ADOBE blocks with traditional thatched roofs. These buildings have received a five start

rating from GRIHA. CII-Godrej GBC, Hyderabad, and The CII-Sohrabji Godrej Business Centre are among India’s greenest buildings. The CII-Sohrabji GBC received the prestigious LEED Platinum Rating for New Construction (NC) V 2.0 in 2003. It is the first building outside the United States to have received this rating. HiranandaniBG House, Mumbai, is a Platinum rated green building in Mumbai. ITC Green Center, Gurgaon (Headquarters of ITC Hotels), was declared the largest LEED platinum rated office space in the world in 2004 and re-certified in 2012. Other notable examples are Suzlon One Earth (Pune), Wipro Technologies (Gurgaon), IGP Office (Gulbarga), ITC Maurya (New Delhi), L&T’s Engineering Design & Research Center (Chennai), Olympia Tech Park (Chennai) and Indira Paryavaran Bhawan (New Delhi). According to the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), “Green building industry will grow by 20 percent in India in the next three years, mainly on account of environmental regulation and rising demand”. In India, there are more than 1,990 projects, comprising more than 822 million sq ft of space, participating in LEED. But more efforts are needed to spread acceptance of the green building concept and its implementation more widely and rapidly.

In the present time of rapid urbanization and globalization when we are over exploiting our resources and degrading the environment, there is urgent need to adopt some environmental friendly techniques.

In developing countries like India where the energy deficit is high, green buildingconcept gives a brilliant and promising solution. Green building is a boon to the society where energy and water consumption can be reduced while still maintaining health, safety and wellbeing. Pre-Project planning effort required in green construction is quite high but once implemented the benefits will be long term. In today’s era the concept of green building has become essential in order that we may maintain environmental balance. Green buildings are the way to a sustainable future.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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AIILSG | Health Initiative

A step towards healthy future All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG) and Parents Association Thalassemic Unit Trust (PATUT) organised a large scale social drive of blood examination for the municipality school children in Mumbai Team UrbanUpdate

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his campaign is being carried out under the guidance of Subhash Desai, Guardian Minister, Mumbai City, and Industries Minister, Maharashtra.

It aims to benefit around 52,000 children. The blood examination camp will be conducted for students of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) schools. The tests will analyse the blood deficiencies – like anaemia, thalassemia, if any.

“We are concentrating on the 481 BMC secondary schools. Usually, these kids come from a downtrodden backgrounds. These students are not financially able to go through the various health check-ups and hence remain undiagnosed of the disease.

With Health Card drive, the students will be examined at the school premises

42 December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

and don’t have to go anywhere for the check-up.” said Milin Sawant, Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Education, MCGM. “We hope that the students will take advantage of this opportunity.

The early identification and treatment will result into a healthy student who will finally shape up to be responsible and healthy citizen.” said Captain Anant Modi, Director General, AIILSG. If the health of the kids is not at the optimum, it affects their studies, progress and ultimately the society.

Hence, a fit and healthy future generation is imperative for the progress of our nation. This issue was rightly addressed by Desai and resulted into to the initiation of Health Card Project.“These days we frequently see that 25 year old has diabetes or a 30 year old had a heart attack. This means, that these dreadful diseases finding their way to even the younger generations. If these disorders are identified at an early stage, then we can

have an effective treatment.” Subhash Desai, Mining and Industry Minister, Maharashtra.

The Health Card Project

Sunil Velankar, Senior Advisor, AIILSG, said: “Since last 90 years, AIILSG has been consistently working along with local governments, state governments and central government and ensures that the government plans are implemented and finally benefit to the public. During this, our institute also tries to venture into the social causes; and “Health Card” is one such drive.”

The blood samples were collected from students of municipal schools. The tests will include the usual CBC reports and further tests will be conducted on the probable thalassemic samples. The test reports will be provided to the pupils via a computerized health card which can be referred for any future medical treatments.

Pankaj Udhas, famous singer and Chairman, PATUT, said: “We at PATUT think that it is important to have healthy citizens, especially the younger generation as if their health is not proper, our nation’s health will not be proper. We want our country to be thalassemia free and anaemia free.” Under the project, in case, there are children suffering from anaemia or thalassemia, they shall be provided with medications free of cost for up to three months by the government.

Post three months, the children will be checked again for effective treatment and advised for further necessary actions to curb the disorder, if any.

In addition, the health card will also include a pamphlet bearing the details of an ideal diet for children, giving guidance to their parents.

UCLG-ASPAC | Events

Ranjit Chavan re-elected Co-President of UCLG-ASPAC Team UrbanUpdate

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anjit Chavan, former Vadodara Mayor and President of AIILSG, has been reelected as CoPresident (Associate and International Organisation members ) of United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific (UCLG-ASPAC) during the 6th UCLG-ASPAC Congress held in Jeollabuk-do Province, South Korea recently.

Chavan has also been at the helm of affairs of All India Council of Mayors as Vice Chairman. The elections were held on the last day of UCLG-ASPAC Congress. The last day of the congress hosted two events: the Sub-regional Elections for Representatives for UCLGASPAC Council and ExBu 2016-2018.

For Presidency 2016-2018, Governor Won Hee-ryong was re-elected as the President of UCLG-ASPAC and Mayor Troy Pickard was represented as the Co- President of Pacific sub-region.

The Congress promoted the sharing of information on strategies for sustainable regional development and global issues, and identified ways of cooperation. Several other events associated with capacity building and uniting issues related to sustainability on a global scale were held. The event perhaps was a significant festival for the enhancing the cooperation and exchanges between local governments and people associated with it. The opening ceremony of the 6th UCLGASPAC congress was on the theme “Region, Life, and Culture in New Urban Agenda” in The Gunsan Saemangeum Convention Center (GSCO) and was attended by hundreds of representatives

“

We are looking at bringing up more factors meant for a sustainable and healthy living. We will come up with the solutions for climate change and other environmental hazards. As a Co-president, I would be able to help our Indian cities to fight back these issues.

Ranjit Chavan Co-President of UCLG-ASPAC, President of AIILSG

of local governments, partners, and international organisations from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. The congress is a biennial event designed to give insights to all local governments within the region to develop their city and improve their citizens’ quality of life.

UCLG ASPAC’s President, Won Heeryong, said, “We continually encourage members to develop. We consistently do this particularly in our scope of work: advocacy, capacity building, policy and

research, programmes and projectsand decentralised cooperations. Taking on the theme, we will focus on the New Urban Agenda, synergise our richness in life and culture in our region to pursue happier lives of people residing in Asia-Pacific.” Hosting the congress for the first time, Governor of Jeollabuk-do Province, Song HaJin, said, “We are happy to host the Congress in our province, proudly known for well preserving Korean traditions and culture. We are doing our best to provide you a comfortable stay in Jeollabuk-do during the Congress period. I hope the Congress will servce as a momentum for further local development in the world.”

UCLG has linkages with more than 7,000 local-governments, represents over 3.76 billion people, which constitutes more than half of the world population. The ASPAC or The Asia and Pacific region is the largest section of the UCLG and incorporates economically fast developing countries such as China, India and Indonesia. The organisation works in decentralised cooperation and advocacy. It further enfolds the research and training programs and enhances the project developing opportunities.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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one on one | Andries Neil

Manage urbanization to address environmental challenges: Neil Andries Neil, Deputy Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, South Africa, speaks to Kumar Dhananjay of Urban Update on challenges cities are facing in South Africa and his government’s initiative IUDF to tackle those challenges…

Team Urban Update

What is Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF)?

Can you please elaborate what is this concept all about and how it is being implemented in South Africa?

South Africa along with other BRICS nations is urbanizing rapidly. Already two thirds of South Africa’s population of fifty million is living in urban areas. This is set to cross seventy per cent by 2030 and eighty per cent by 2050. There are many positive aspects of urbanization. Cities bring people together in close proximity and economic activities flow and jobs get created. Already in South Africa two thirds of our gross domestic product is produced in cities. On the other hand, if we don’t manage urbanization well, a vast informal settlement in which living conditions are bad and then you get environmental degradation and urbanization of poverty. It is for this reason South Africa has adopted Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF). That gives

44 December 2016 | www.urbanupdate.in

expression to the vision contained in our national development plan of creating cities that are liveable, safe and inclusive, efficient and in which citizens play a major role in the governance. This is what IUDF seeks to achieve.

South Africa has been a society divided on racial lines. Over the last twentyfive years what has been your experience? How have you been able to bridge the gap that existed in the society and bring that much desired inclusiveness? How successful has the government been in being able to achieve that?

Well, you have asked absolutely a vital and central question. In many respects South Africa has made phenomenal progress in the past twenty two years. We have dismantled the legal aspect of apartheid. We have put in place a democratic constitution that recognizes the rights and dignity of all our citizens. It spells out not only the political rights but also the socioeconomic rights that are necessary for a dignified life. Secondly, we have built strong democratic institutions and thirdly we have rolled out basic services to millions and millions of South Africans. We have made phenomenal progress in pushing up access to water, sanitation, electricity, roads, health clinics and education. We have been able to provide three and half million free houses. The one challenge has been with reversing the legacy of apartheid spatial segregation and planning. Our cities still remains very segregated along the lines of race and

class. Even the millions of houses that we have built have had the unintended consequences of reinforcing those patterns because very often these houses are built on the periphery of our cities. We have achieved success but to be honest this is an area of huge challenge.

South Africa also has to play an important role in African Continent given its size. A lot of small countries around have their own problems like civil war, military rule among others.

How have you been able to convey to them to establish democracy and rule of law?

South Africa has been able to achieve with the support of a community of nations that believe in democracy, human rights and human dignity. And amongst those countries we must count India. India stood firmly behind us in our fight against apartheid both politically and materially. We continue to maintain those relations of solidarity with India.

The African continent stood behind us and some neighboring countries paid a heavy price for supporting our struggle for democracy. We don’t want to be presumptuous and say that now we have achieved democracy with the support of others so we now turn around and lecture others. That is not our approach. Our approach is to work in the spirit of solidarity and collaboration with other countries of the continent. African Union is also working in that direction.

We all talk in terms of numbers

that fifty four percent of the world population is living in urban centers now. In this jargon of numbers sometimes policies take a back seat.

While formulating the policies a huge number of urban poor gets ignored and decisions are always meant for the middle class or business class.

How to bridge that gap and bring the marginalized sections at the center when formulating policies?

You have raised a very important area and central issue. South Africa has emphasized that point. We must follow people centric approach in whatever we do. Cities must be there for people, people must not be there for cities.

We recognize that in our integrated development framework, the variety of interest that play themselves out in our cities and towns and very often our cities and towns develop as they do because of powerful commercial interest. The interest of developers who find it profitable to develop on the cheap lands on the periphery of our town and cities to maximize their profits and then it is left to local government and poor to subsidize those developments through the provisions of infrastructure. Our policy framework recognizes that fact. We believe in strong partnership with private sector but we believe that partnership must be structured on the lines that it benefits everyone in the society, in particular the poor.

Generally we have three tiers of the government. The central government, the provincial government and then these urban local bodies. Given the urbanization that is taking place how important you think is the role of urban local bodies to make the lives of citizens better?

The role of local bodies is absolutely vital. Our constitution gives clear recognition to three spheres of government. The national, the provincial and the local bodies. The constitution says that they are inter dependent so there is no hierarchy. But at the same time the constitution gives mandate to the central government to set broad policies and frameworkand that we have done now through integrated development framework.

Furthermore we are also developing the capacity of the planning commission.

These policies have to be translated at the provincial and local level. The constitution also gives very definite and clear powers to the local government especially around planning and land use management which is absolutely crucial to urbanization. Our role as national government is to support the local government to ensure that they are able to carry out those constitutional obligations. We have adopted a program called back to basics which is based on the fact that in our analysis one third of our municipalities are doing very well,one third are doing ok but rest are in serious trouble and they need a lot of support and in some cases intervention too. So back to basic program is based on five pillars. First, putting people first, second leveraging the services, third ensuring good governance, fourth sound financial management, and fifth building strong institutional capabilities. We have been able to turn around some of those dysfunctional municipalities.

South Africa is a member of BRICS nations. These are five major emerging economies of the world.

There are lots of exchanges of ideas but at the ground level when it comes to economic cooperation and interdependency for the development

of the respective countries how beneficial has been this forum in your view?

We think it’s a very important forum certainly for South Africa. BRICS is a major focus area of our international relations both at the political and economic level. I think that is slowly growing from strength to strength.

The creation of institution like BRICS bank and contingency arrangements are all testimony to that fact. South Africa has recently concluded major economic agreements with India, China and Russia. We value this forum because many BRICS countries share similar challenges and opportunities.

With India we share the issue of rapid urbanisation and that we both are very diverse countries in terms of religions, culture and languages.

And how to manage that unity in diversity. Obviously at the end of the day, the challenge in not just to talk and exchange ideas but how to forge partnership and turn that into action.

Another important area is that of gender equality. What is South African government doing to promote women leadership in local bodies as well as central government? What initiatives have been taken in that direction?

The question of gender equality is a fundamental one in the process of South Africa’s transition to democracy.

We have made huge strides. At the national level there is virtual gender parity in the cabinet. At the level of national parliament there is the representation of women between forty to fifty percent. Figures are very similar in provinces. In the local governments, the situation is a little bit more complex. At the national and provincial level we work on apurely proportional representation system.

We work on the party list. So it’s much easier to fix gender parity. Especially at the wards level there has been a challenge to affect gender parity.

We have long cleared the thirtythree percent target so that is not even an issue. The struggle now is to get to fifty percent or more.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2016

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URBAN AGENDA | City Planning

Paradigm shift in city planning to bear fruits India has shifted its focus on to urban development from rural development with introduction of several projects to improve city infrastructure and services, yet the nation needs to travel a long distance to stand among the global cities

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ndian urban population has grown from 79 million in 1961 to 428 million in 2015 (UN, 2015). In the last 55 years, a lot has changed in the perspective of Indian polity on city development. The present government has taken initiatives to strengthen local bodies and development agencies in formulation and execution ofurban development projects in their respective cities.

Apart from many urban rejuvenation programmes, the government has tried to inculcate bottom up approach in urban management system and this step is revolutionary for many reasons. First: it is in sync with the idea of Swarajya promoted by the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. Second: this step ensures engagement of local populace and it enhances the chances of successful implementation of programmes as it engages local community for which the programme or project is designed.

Financial empowerment of urban local bodies in India has also been given some importance. The new Smart City Mission has included a point on financial sustainability of projects.Union Minister of Urban Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, M Venkaiah Naidu, says, in Habitat III: National Report 2016, “…In pursuance of the principle of cooperative federalism, the Central Government has devolved higher share of central taxes (42 per cent) to the states and further recognized the role of Urban Local Bodies by making them financially empowered, by increasing their share in central taxes up to five per cent, so

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as to strengthen city-level infrastructure and services to the citizens. This has permitted cities to portray their own distinctive priorities and goals in developing and implementing the urban agenda…”

Every nation has decided its own set of objectives in sync with the New Urban Agenda adopted at the Habitat III Conference. Though, there is an absence of a collective urban vision that is shared by various urban actors,it is not a major issue.Urbanists and experts in the development domain have also expressed their concern regarding nonavailability of one single solution for all problems. It is a welcome step that every nation is contemplating to address the problems its cities are facing and coming up with the solution that best suits their situation.

India is focusing on urban-centric development but many of its recent initiatives do not match with the objectives of the New Urban Agenda. For example, the idea of smart city receives a passing reference in the Agenda while the Agenda talks about the ‘right to city’ extensively. We know that India has not been able to build basic urban infrastructure and to provide basic urban services to its urban population. It is imperative that cities and governments focus on building a mechanism where equity, inclusivity and sustainability are at the heart of urban planning. AIILSG is implementing Equi-City programme in Nagpur city. Such programs can be replicated elsewhere to strengthen the appositeness of India’s urban approach.

Ashok Wankhade Managing Editor bhau1008@gmail.com

All India Institute of Local Self-Government AIILSG conducts Online Assessment Testing and Training Programmes. * Online centres are equipped with state-of-the-art AC Labs with requisite support infrastructure facilities to conduct Online Programmes. * Centres are CAT certified Testing Centres and presently conducting many prestigious Online Programmes with reputed clients like Prometric, MeritTrac, TCS, SIFY, IIBF, JNU, Satvat Infosol Pvt Ltd, Manipal University, Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and others. * Regional Centres - Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi and Trivandrum are presently having facility for Online Testing Programme.

A I I L SG ON L I N E CE N T RE S

For specific requirement, please contact AIILSG HO Mumbai | E-mail: onlinemumbai@aiilsg.org | Phone: 022-26571713/14/15 Delhi Centre | E-mail: delhi@aiilsg.org | Phone: 011 - 2852 1783/ 5473

All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG) whole heartedly supports Swachh Bharat Mission and is committed to play a proactive role to realise its objectives.

The institute is organising regular orientation workshops on SBM to augment the capacity of ULBs and also generating public awareness on cleanliness

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